The Times-Picayune 06-25-2026

2026 WORLD CUP: U.S. VS.TURKEY l 9P.M

LawmakersOKteacher stipendplan

Courttemporarily blocks Landry’s executiveorder

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Louisiana lawmakers approved

Gov.Jeff Landry’splan to cut nearly $170 million from school budgets to pay for teacher stipends, according to vote tallies released Wednesday,though acourt has temporarily blocked the plan

from taking effect

More than two-thirds of members inboth chambers of theLegislature voted in favor of reducing thestate’smain education fund by $168 million, which requires legislative approval.Under Landry’s executiveorder,that money would instead be used to give $2,000 stipends to teachers and $1,000 to

somesupport staffers.

Louisiana educators have receivedthe stipends the past three years instead of raises. After voters rejected aballot measure in May to finance permanent raises, teacherswereset to lose the stipends this school year before Landry proposed usingstate education funds to pay for them.

PARISH

“While working towards a permanent solutiontoraise our teacher pay in Louisiana, the Legislature clearly did not want to see areduction in teacher paythis year,” Senate President Cameron Henry andHouse Speaker Phillip DeVillier said in ajoint statement

Wednesday

In theHouse, 76 of 105 members voted forthe funding cut, while eight members voted against it, one abstained and 20 members did not vote, according to the official tally.The “no” votes were cast by Democrats and Rep. Neil Riser,a Republican who represents several rural parishes where school leaders have said the state funding cut could devastate their budgets. In the Senate, 37 of 39 members voted in favor of the funding reduction, while Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, cast

See STIPEND, page 7A

Embattledsheriff resigns

Smithpleads guilty to battery

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

Randy Smith resignedas St. Tammany Parish sheriff Wednesday afterpleading guilty to violentlyattacking aman in aMadisonville-area steakhouse, effectively ending his four-decade law-enforcement career by standing before ajudge as acriminal defendant in the parish courthouse in Covington. His resignation, effective at 1p.m. on Wednesday,was part of aplea agreementthat sawSmithadmitto a charge of felony battery andagree to

attend asubstance abuse programinorder to reducethe charge to amisdemeanor and avoid spendingtime in jail.

Dressed in alight blue suit in front of anearly full courtroom, Smith told Judge Reginald Badeaux of the 22nd Judicial District Court that he understood the charges against him. When asked how he pleaded onone count of felonybattery and one count of disturbing thepeace through intoxication, Smith said “guilty,” and called his actionsonMay 29 amistake. “I take fullresponsibility andIapologize to thecitizens of this parish, the men and women of the St.Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, and to my family,thatIstood up for, and I’llface the consequenc-

es of my actions,”Smithtold thejudge. Smith’sguilty plea andhis resignationmarked astunning fall foralaw enforcement officer who first joined theSheriff’s Office in the 1980s at 21 yearsold, before going on toserve as Slidell’s police chief for six years and spending most of thelastdecadeasSt. Tammany’s sheriff.

While Smith’stenure as sheriff has not been without controversy,heprovedto be popular with voters, winning threesheriff’selections, mostrecently in 2023. But it all unraveled after his arrest on June 4following an investigation by Louisiana

See SHERIFF, page 8A

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

BYTYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

stem hismomentumand give U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow thevictory on Saturday?

In the final days of an increasingly divisive Senate Republican campaign, the race hascomedown to this: Can President DonaldTrump and theavalanche of negative ads against treasurer John Fleming

Polls show that Fleming has erased most or allofLetlow’s17-point advantagecomingout of theMay 16 primary “It’sdog close,” said Greg Rigamer,a New Orleans pollster who has

Gov.JeffLandry is planning to issue an executive order Thursday on data centers emerging in thestate andtheir impact on consumer electric bills, amid newconcerns about an Entergy proposal to spend $1.8 billion buying anew power plant. Details about the executive order’s language and potential impact were not immediatelyavailable Wednesday,but sources said that Landry plans to sign an order about thetopic.Landry’sofficeannounced thathe and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois would hold anews conference Thursdayabout anew,statewide initiative “focused on protecting ratepayers and strengthening Louisiana while supporting the state’scurrent economic momentum and long-term competitiveness.”

The high-profile movecomes as some elected leaders, including Republicans, areraising questions aboutEntergy Louisiana’splans to buy apower plant in Texas calledCottonwood, adecision that would costthe averagecustomer about $8 amonth, according to records. Aconsultant for Louisiana’sPublic Service Commission, which hastoapprove the acquisition, saidina recent reportthat the plant is primarily needed because of Meta’s giantnorth Louisianadatacenter. Entergy and Meta say the conclusion is inaccurate. But it has put apublic spotlight on whether the companies are fulfilling the promise that regular customers won’tpay fordata center costs. Landry expressed concerns last week

done weekly surveys for super lobbyist Alton Ashy,a Letlow contributor With Flemingmounting asurprisingly strong challenge, Trump is stepping up hispush forLetlow, and outside groups are launching a barrage of attacks againstthe treasurer Fleming said those moves indicate his political strength. “They wouldn’tbedoing this if Letlow,Fleming down

ä See PRIMARY, page 7A

FILEPHOTO By GRANT THERKILDSEN

RandySmith resigned Wednesdayafter serving for more than adecade as sheriff of St.Tammany Parish.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

District Attorney Collin Sims speaksduring Wednesday’snewsconference at the St.Tammany Parish JusticeCenter in Covington.

ST.TAMMANY

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Man allegedly filmed people inside bathroom

A San Francisco Bay Area pop culture writer and former curator of San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum was arrested earlier this month after allegedly filming people inside his bathroom during a birthday party.

Andrew Farago, 54, hosted a birthday party at his South Berkeley house on May 23 and allegedly used a cellphone to secretly record people using his bathroom, according to court records.

Berkeley police confirmed that Farago was arrested June 3 on suspicion of invasion of privacy by using a hidden camera to secretly record someone under their clothing.

During the party, a woman found a video showing Farago “setting the phone up, concealing it with a towel, and aiming it to record people’s genitalia as they used the restroom,” Berkeley police said in court records.

Farago “made admissions and also stated that he had deleted the videos” from his phone and iCloud, according to Berkeley police.

Texas Hill Country told about giraffe on the lam

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas, and the search for her has become a tall order Gracie, who is about 3 years old, has been missing for nearly two weeks after escaping her enclosure at Cedar Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, said Vic Jones, who owns the remote property about 100 miles west of San Antonio. He said Wednesday that Gracie had wandered into a part of the privately owned preserve that other giraffes previously avoided.

Jones said he has sent up helicopters to look for Gracie, a few sightings have trickled in, and a $5,000 reward is on the table. But the giraffe, which stands roughly the height of a tree, hasn’t turned up.

“She wound up going up and feeding in an area on the hillside and the rocky ledges that none of the other giraffes had ever gone on before,” Jones said. “And when she came down off of there, she came down on the wrong side of the gate.”

The ranch is in rural Real County, where its roughly 2,700 residents were put on alert to be on the lookout for a missing giraffe. Jones said the search area is extremely remote, and the likelihood of Gracie encountering any humans is low

“People are not in danger of her because she’s not around people,” Jones said. ‘She’s out in very, very rough, heavily wooded lands.”

The Texas Hill Country has one of the largest concentrations of exotic captive animals in the country Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said the mild climate and rugged terrain seems to serve as a good standin for most of the animals’ native African environments

He rattled off a list of animals that have gone missing over the years, especially after floods, but said this was his first giraffe

“I’ve had wildebeests, I’ve had water buffalo, I’ve had monkeys, I’ve had zebras, all go missing,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we recover them, and sometimes we don’t.”

While the middle of Texas is not a giraffe’s native environment, Jones said Gracie should be able to find plenty of leaves and other vegetation to eat. He said other animals were not likely to bother her Jones said he initially had helicopters searching an area of about 7,500 acres with no luck. A few days later, there was a report that Gracie was spotted to the south. But by the time they could search the area, Jones said, she was already gone.

White House seeks $87.6 billion

Money wanted for Iran war costs, U.S. farmers and Ebola response

BY LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the U.S. war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as Republican and Democratic lawmakers have objected to any further military action.

The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request on Wednesday It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch — engaging in a shouting match with one over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities.

The request is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as part of Operation

Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes a range of other items, including aid to American farmers, help for the Ebola crisis in Africa, and other needs closer to home, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C.

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton.

It’s unclear how quickly the House and Senate could act on the White House’s request, or if Congress takes up the matter at all.

The funding faces a difficult path because many lawmakers could view any votes as a reflection of test of their support for the war effort.

Yet the White House was clear to include provisions to interest lawmakers from various regions, including $1 billion to assist “the

final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City,” which would be of interest to the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats.

The administration said it is requesting $67 billion for the Department of Defense for what it said were urgent needs related to the war against Iran, including “funding for military personnel and readiness expenses, operational costs to rebuild stocks.”

It also wants $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa and requests $500 million to support ongoing efforts “to complete restoration and construction projects in and around Washington, D.C.”

Ukraine hits natural gas plant, satellite centers

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV Ukraine — Ukrainian forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in their latest nighttime attacks on Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday

The operation was part of Ukraine’s aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries that has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to ward off Russia’s full-scale invasion now in its fifth year

In response, Moscow has ordered the redeployment of some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and to Crimea’s Kerch Bridge, a crucial link for supplying Russian troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The bridge connects the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.

“It is important that as many Russians as possible come to understand that it is the Russian leadership’s rejection of diplomacy that is prolonging the war,”

Zelenskyy said on X.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused.

In northern Ukraine meanwhile military officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for communities and settlements in the Chernihiv region bordering Belarus starting July 1, according to Viacheslav Chaus, the head of regional military administration, in a statement on his Telegram channel.

Ukraine: Plant among world’s largest

The overnight attack hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which is part of a complex that also houses the only helium plant in Russia, the General Staff said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. The attack set the complex on fire, it said.

Orenburg, in the southern Urals near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, is more than 750 miles behind the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The plant is one of the largest gas complexes in the world, according to the General Staff. It produces helium, used in liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, and ethane, a key component in producing solid rocket fuel and gunpowder, it added.

Overnight attacks also hit two satellite communication centers used by the Russian military, according to the General Staff. One was the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow, which it described as Russia’s largest groundbased satellite communications complex, and the other was in the Vladimir region east of the capital.

It was not possible to independently verify the General Staff’s report, and Russian officials made no immediate comment.

Ukraine keeps hammering Crimea Ukraine has recently focused its drone and missile attacks on Crimea, aiming to cut off the vital Russian-held peninsula, and overnight drone strikes knocked out power in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city’s Moscow-installed governor said Wednesday Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, sits in a strategic location on the Black Sea. It has naval bases and also provides an important supply line to Moscow’s forces inside Ukraine.

Ukraine recently destroyed more than 60,000 tons of Russian ammunition when it hit a Baltic Fleet arsenal near St Petersburg, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is trying to disrupt military supply lines in Crimea and strike the peninsula’s power grid at the height of the summer tourist season. Kyiv hopes the campaign will embarrass Putin and increase public pressure on him to end the war, according to Western analysts.

Zimbabwe’s Senate approves bill to delay presidential election

BY FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe’s Sen-

ate on Wednesday approved constitutional amendments that would remove direct presidential elections, delay the next one and extend the tenure of the country’s 83-year-old leader, whose signature is the final step for them to become law

Seventy-five senators voted in favor of the bill that would postpone elections scheduled for 2028 to 2030 and extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years. Four senators opposed the measure.

The bill overhauls the way presidents are chosen, replacing direct popular elections with selection by lawmakers. It also extends the terms of the president and members of par-

liament to seven years from five.

The proposed amendments have heightened political tensions in Zimbabwe. Critics of the bill have faced arrest and detention, while others have alleged harassment and intimidation.

Mnangagwa has been in power since 2017, when the military backed the ouster of his mentor and Zimbabwe’s longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019.

Among them, the package proposes revisions to federal regulations of hemp products that have long been in dispute, changes to the year-round sales of renewable fuels and lifting of restrictions around federal investment support in Venezuela.

The biggest share of defense funding, $21 billion, will go to weapons munitions, with another $17.3 billion for operational costs and $12.1 billion for other classified programs. Funds are also requested to cover fuel costs, drone manufacturing and cybersecurity

The money for farmers would provide $10 billion in economic assistance to row and specialty crop farmers and $1.1 billion specifically to Florida agriculture producers who suffered losses from this past year’s winter storms.

The package also includes a collection of policy proposals that the administration strongly supports, and which are certain to raise interest among lawmakers.

Camp Mystic files for bankruptcy

BY JAMIE STENGLE and KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press

DALLAS Camp Mystic

filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Wednesday, nearly a year after catastrophic floods killed 25 campers and two teenage counselors at the Christian camp for girls along the Guadalupe River in Texas.

Camp Mystic has been under increasing pressure since the July 4 disaster Owners had planned to reopen the Texas Hill Country camp this summer for its 100th anniversary but reversed course in April amid outrage from victims’ families and lawmakers. Victims’ families filed lawsuits accusing the camp of failing to protect the girls as the powerful floodwaters approached.

Camp Mystic’s owner Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.

The camp listed its debt at more than $10 million, according to the filing made in federal bankruptcy court in Houston.

“Bankruptcy will not

stop all responsible parties from being held accountable,” Paul Yetter, a lawyer who represents multiple families of campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic, said in a statement. “These innocent girls deserve justice.” For decades, Camp Mystic was a summer staple and an institution for generations of families, who dropped off their girls at the sleepaway camp to ride horses, canoe, fish and attend Bible studies Other summer camps did not take on such devastating flooding and in some cases have reopened. All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Eastland family spent months determined to reopen the camp this summer, pointing to enhanced safety measures that included flood warning river monitors and putting two-way radios enabled with national weather alerts in every cabin.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREM LUKATSKy

An owner rummages through the ashes on the site of the ruined city marketplace after a recent Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

Centralpastordefends attackingneighbor

Tony Spellsays manhad been threatening him

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

The Rev.Tony Spell stood on the steps of his churchin Central on Wednesday —a day after being arrested for allegedly beating up his neighbor’s20-year-old son —and defended his actions, comparing himself to ashepherd protecting his flock.

Spell said the neighbors, wholive across thestreet from his Life Tabernacle Church on Hooper Road, have been terrorizing him and his congregation for months. Just beforethe fistfight, the20-year-old man threatened to rape and kill his family,Spell claimed Scott Sherwin, the father of the 20-year-old, countered after the news conference that hisson wouldn’thavesaid something likethat, let alone loud enough for Spelltohear across four lanes of traffic

“You know what Ithink?” he said. “I should buymy son amegaphone because I know he didn’thearacross thehighway.”

Sherwinsaid his son was in thefront yard checking whetherthe grasswas dry enough to mow and had done

nothingtoprovoke Spell. At thenews conference, Spell said thatasa“natural protector to my wife and to my grandchildren who were threatened murder who were threatened rape, I have an obligation to protect them.”

“I’m apastor who shepherdshis flock.It’snot the job of thesheeptoattack the wolves; it’sthe job of the shepherd to protect his sheep,” Spell said.

On Tuesdaymorning,Spell said,hewas fixingthe battery on achurch bus as the neighborwas walking along his propertyinfront of the church on theother side of HooperRoad.The neighbor shouted obscenities, Spell said.

Spell’s arrest warrantsays that theman yelled “f*** you.”

Surveillance footage shows Spell running across the road, with the neighbor videoing him with acellphone until the fightensued Videoappears to show theneighbor threwthe first punch as he was being charged bySpell. Spell then started punching theneighbor,whose identity has not beenreleased, on the sideof themajor road as vehicles passed by Video shows Spell punching the man eight times before tackling him to the ground, then hittinghim an-

other 27 times. During the fight,Spell alsothrows the phoneintothe street. The majority of the 35 punches were to thehead and chest Betweenpunches, while on top of him on theground, Spell twists the man’sneck to theside. After Spell stopped punching, he delivereda kick to the man’sside before crossing back over the road and going into the church. Sherwin said hisson was taken after the fight to a hospital and requiredfive

stitches tohis chin. Deputies made contact with Spell inside thechurch and later booked him into jail on asecond-degreebattery count. He wasreleasedon bond the same day, in time to makeittohis church’susual Tuesday service.

Althoughanother pastor was calledintohandle much of the service, Spell took to the pulpit at onepoint and told congregants thathis dayhad begun with thebiblical Scripturethat followers

of Jesus would layhands on the sick.

“I fulfilled the Scripture, because Ilaid hands on the sick. Idon’tknow how much recovery they’re going to have,but Ilaidhands on them,” Spell said.

Spell went on to imply thatheshouldhavedoneso sooner.Hesaidthat while he was in parish prison, he and others in or near his cell quoted the Bible and poetry, adding that the guards were watching thevideoofthe

fight earlier in the day.He added that controversial radio showhostAlexJones hadinvitedhim to go on his program Spell described the Sherwin family as “domestic terrorists” andclaimedthe church has made multiple complaints to Central Police about them.Spell said police have chosen to ignore the complaints. Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran said theyhave only received one complaint about the family,filed by the pastor’swife, Shaye Spell. Corcoran said they investigated the claim but found nothing and closed it. Sherwin and Spell have been feuding since at least 2020. After Sherwin setup surveillance camerasathis own home, Spell sued, claiming they were installed to keep tabs on him Spell drew national attentionin2020afterrefusing to stop holding church services at Life Tabernacle, defying then-Gov.John Bel Edwards’ emergencyorders shutting down group events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was charged with misdemeanors for doing so, butthe Louisiana Supreme Courtthrew them out, saying the state government’s restrictionsonreligious gatherings violated the First Amendment.

Accounting firm to help AG with corruption investigations

Former N.O. sheriff, BR officials focusofprobes

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Staff writer

The Louisiana Attorney General’sOffice has hired atop-flightaccountingfirm records show,asitcontinues to pursue separate investigationsinto alleged corruption in BatonRouge government and malfeasance in office by former New Orleans Sheriff Susan Hutson.

The $150,000 contract with London-based Ernst and Young includesfew details, butsources familiarwith the investigation said the firm could help prosecutors charge more officials or add more counts in the two cases.

Obtained via records request, the contract says the firm’sinvestigators will help probe “fundingsources, contractual arrangements, and relationships with public sector entities” for Attorney

General Liz Murrill’soffice.

Sources said the firm’s currentinvestigative work in Baton Rougeisrelated to public officials whohave not yet been implicated in theattorney general’s corruption probe

Thecontract went into effect at the end of March, is active through theend of 2026 and states the firm will collect and review “contracts, agreements, financial records, correspondence” forstateinvestigators, as well as develop timelines of transactionsand relevant events.

Contracted investigators willalsoconductforensic analysis of electronic data and probe financial transactions involving “specific counterparties or programs identifiedbythe Department of Justice.”

One of the world’s“Big Four”accountingfirms, Ernstand Young has offices in numerous countries and offers awide range of other professional services.The leader of its investigations

team is former deputy FBI Director Jeffrey Sallet.

Though months have passedsinceanindictment has come down, thestate’s special grand juryinBaton Rougecontinues to hear evidence,withseveral Metro Council members and other current or former city-parish officials recently appearing to testify

The last officialtobe charged was Courtney Scott, atop aide to former East BatonRouge Parish MayorPresident Sharon Weston Broome. Scott was indicted Feb.25.

Scott is accused of using her influence and oversight to award governmentcontracts to an associate. Prosecutors say Scott received nearly $200,000 in kickbacks from contractor Veronica Mathis, who was also indicted, that she used to help pay off her mortgageand credit card debt.

The investigation has also yielded an indictment of sitting Metro Council member Cleve Dunn Jr.Like Scott,

$1.3Bdefamationsuitagainst Lindell

Dunn was indicted on counts of conspiracy,bribery,contract fraud, money laundering and more.

State officialssay Dunn funneled atransit contract to an associate with the help of then-Capital Area TransitSystemadministrator PearlinaThomas,who was also indicted. According to awarrant for Dunn’sarrest, thecouncil memberwas then paid more than 90% of thefunds thetransit system

paid to the contractor Broomewas subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury but has not yet done so.

In April, agrand jury indicted Hutson —New Orleans’ sheriff from 2022 to 2026 —on30countsincluding malfeasance, maintaining false public records and conspiracy charges.

The indictment stemsfrom the May 2025 escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center.Murrill’spros-

ecutors say Hutsonfailedto comply with legal requirements and safeguards regarding the jail, whichcontributed to the jailbreak. It wasn’tuntil October 2025 that all escapees were found andbrought back to the jail.

The former sheriffhas denied any wrongdoing. Hutson’schief financial officer,Bianka Brown, was also indicted on 20 felony counts.

BY RYAN FAIRCLOTH Star Tribune (TNS)

Thecompany formerly known as Dominion Voting Systems is ending its $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against MyPillow and its CEO, Mike Lindell. The voting machinecompany,which wassoldlast year to aformer GOP elec-

tion officialand is nowcalled LibertyVote, agreed to dismissthe lawsuit in afederal court filingthis week The agreement reached this week stated that all partiesinthe lawsuit will bear their own legal fees and costs. Lindell estimated his legal fight with Dominion cost him about$20 million. Dominion Voting Systems

filedthe defamation lawsuit against Lindell andMyPillowin2021 over Lindell’s discredited claimsthat the companyriggedthe 2020 election for Joe Biden.

Lindell still faces afederal defamation suit from Smartmatic, another voting technology company that won a summary judgment against Lindell last fall.

STAFFPHOTO By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI

Life Tabernacle Church pastorTonySpell speaks to media with hisattorneyWitten Brink by his side on Wednesdayatthe Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge.

Cassidy, Trump have shouting match over Iran

U.S.

Wednesday

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bill Cas-

sidy and President Donald Trump got into shouting match Wednesday during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators.

Trump asked why four GOP senators voted Tuesday for legislation directing the president to either withdraw troops from the conflict Iran or seek Congressional approval for the operation under the War Powers Act. Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican, voted for the measure, which also passed in the House with Republican help.

The resolution carries no legal authority but sends a powerful symbolic message about the conflict.

“I said, ‘Is that a rhetorical question? Or would you like to really know?’” Cassidy told reporters after the luncheon, which was billed as a kumbaya effort to overcome

disagreements between Trump and the GOP majority in the Senate. “He said, ‘I’d like to know.’ I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on.’ It was supposed to last four weeks It’s lasted four months

Our original objectives have not been achieved. And I want to know what’s going on,” Cassidy said.

Trump didn’t care for Cassidy’s comments and raised his voice, Cassidy said, adding that he matched Trump’s “tone and vibe.”

“It’s the Irish in me,” Cassidy said. “It went back and forth.”

Trump dismissed the senior senator reminding Cassidy that he lost his bid for a third term in the May 16 closed party primary “I don’t like a few people, but I think you know who they are,” Trump said when he left.

Trump backed U.S. Rep Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, in the election She faces State Treasurer

John Fleming, R-Minden, in Saturday’s primary runoff to determine which Republican will face the Democratic candidate in the Nov 3 general election.

Cassidy had been deferential to Trump before ballots were counted in May Since the election, like other incumbents who lost because of Trump’s opposition, Cassidy now has more flexibility to contradict the president.

Only one or two other senators spoke up at the meeting meant to repair bridges between the Senate majority and the White House, Cassidy said, adding that it was mostly Trump talking.

Trump canceled a ceremony to sign bipartisan legislation to incentivize the building of more houses until the Senate passes a bill that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and showing picture identification to cast a ballot. Last week he said he would refuse to sign a measure reautho-

rizing spying on foreigners until the voting bill is passed.

Cassidy supports the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, called the SAVE America Act. But not enough other senators do. Senate leadership wants to move on to address other issues, such as lowering health care costs, in the time remaining for this Congress.

One colleague quietly told Cassidy to let it go, and he “sat down and tried to de-escalate,” the senator said.

“I make no apologies for standing up to the president, if you will, trying to demand that more information be shared with the Senate and more information be shared with the American people,” Cassidy said. “If someone tries to bully me and is not answering that question, I’m not going to accept that either.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

Trump berates Senate Republicans, cancels bill signing

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and STEVEN SLOAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump berated Senate Republicans during a visit to the Capitol Wednesday for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt.

Invited to speak at the GOP luncheon by Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Trump had signaled ahead of time that he would use the closed-door meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. But the conversation was more focused on Tuesday’s vote to approve the war powers resolution, a mostly symbolic measure that allows Congress to rebuke the administration’s military actions. The House passed its own version of the resolution earlier this month.

Trump had particular words for the four Republican senators who voted with Democrats on the measure Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge — after calling them “losers” on social media.

Publicly, Trump said afterward that they had “a re-

ally great meeting.” But he hinted at the discord

“We like everyone in the room,” Trump said. “I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK.”

The meeting capped weeks of friction between Trump and Senate Republicans and added a new layer of frustration as Tuesday’s vote was the first time the Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the Iran war.

Trump made clear he was in no mood to compromise before it even started, calling off a scheduled signing ceremony on a housing bill that passed both chambers overwhelmingly this week and that GOP lawmakers were touting as an electionyear achievement.

Trump housing bill reversal Republican senators were eager for a conciliatory meeting with the president after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But Trump upended their plans when he declared on social media just beforehand that he wouldn’t sign the legislation until they send him the SAVE America Act, his bill to require proof of citizenship for all voters.

North Carolina Sen Thom Tillis said before the meeting that he doesn’t know why Trump is holding the housing bill “hostage” for the voting bill that “will never pass in this Congress.”

“It makes no sense to me,” Tillis said as he walked into the luncheon.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is “an affordability issue,” Thune said, “and eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it.”

The White House did not immediately respond when asked whether Trump would veto the legislation. But his apparent reversal on the

measure that Republicans have touted ahead of the election is likely to only aggravate the deepening split between the president and his Republican majorities on Capitol Hill.

Trump, senators at odds

Trump’s move on the housing bill is his latest reversal after weeks of being at odds with Senate Republicans.

Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming

one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war even as they question the strategy and endgame.

By rejecting a public bill signing, Republicans worry that Trump is also indicating a level of indifference to voters’ affordability concerns heading into November’s midterm elections.

Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate after endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were previously reliable votes for his agenda Cassidy and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Both men have become more critical of Trump since losing reelection.

“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page,” Cornyn said ahead of the meeting. “We’re not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous.”

Trump pushes Thune on bill

Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate filibuster and focus on the proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even though Thune has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes.

While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the president, he has spent much

of his time lately telling Trump what he doesn’t want to hear Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and some in their conference want to see the voting bill pass, “it’s just not realistic.”

Trump has also demanded that they add a ban on mailin ballots to the bill as well as unrelated provisions to block sex reassignment surgeries on some minors and prevent transgender women from playing in women’s sports. Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this year and has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there aren’t enough votes to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60vote threshold to pass most bills in the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are uniformly opposed to the bill.

“Those are just hard realities,” Thune said. “And I think people at some point have to come to grips with that.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said Wednesday that he had talked through a different approach on his call with Trump — putting the voting bill on a budget reconciliation measure that would only need a simple majority to pass. He has proposed a federal grant program that would provide funding to states if they implement various SAVE Act provisions.

Judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote

BY JULIE CARR SMYTH and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked

many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the Republican administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” wrote Casper

Among other proposed changes, Trump’s order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was grateful the court had blocked Trump’s “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of our elections” and would continue to defend voting rights in this year’s midterm elections.

“Generations of Americans fought tirelessly for the right to vote, and we honor their legacy by protecting that right against anyone who tries to undermine it,” said James, a Democrat.

Requests for comment sent to the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice were not immediately returned.

The ruling was the latest in a series against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. The Republican president has since signed another executive order on elections that

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON Congressional Democrats called for investigations Wednesday into renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the ongoing drama over the president’s problem-plagued, $16 million rehabilitation project continued to roil the capital. Lawmakers in the House and Senate demanded answers about the saga that’s been highlighted in the news cycle for weeks, even as the White House has repeatedly blamed — without evidence — unidentified vandals for peeling paint and other problems. Six people have been arrested, President Donald Trump said, without providing details, and a local wildlife nonprofit conducted necropsies on dead ducks found near the Reflecting Pool. The president has said the pool may need to be drained once again for additional repairs.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, challenged the Trump administration over no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, saying they were awarded to vendors with previous relationships to Trump.

National Park Service projects undertaken at Trump’s behest in the Washington area “have been marked by blatant corruption,

a shocking lack of transparency, disregard for legal requirements and apparent incompetence,” Blumenthal wrote Wednesday in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Jessica Bowron, the acting Park Service director

“Rushed no-bid contracts given to unqualified vendors with previous relationships to the president resulted in a reflecting pool more covered with algae than before, with freshly painted chunks of paint peeling from the bottom to float on the pool’s surface,” Blumenthal said. Ohio-based Green Water Solutions was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor Both contractors have ties to Trump entities, said California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations, draining its water and directing the bottom to be painted a color he dubbed “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating have appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

seeks to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.

Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a separate challenge to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups blocked the government from taking steps to include the proofof-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later barred Trump’s defense secretary from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE

President Donald Trump, escorted by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., heads to a meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

STAFF PHOTO By MARK BALLARD

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, speaks to reporters

at the Capitol after getting into a shouting match with President Donald Trump over the military conflict with Iran.

Trump turns America 250 kickoff into rally

BY COLLIN BINKLEY, THOMAS BEAUMONT and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is formally kicking off celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary by working to get the country excited again — about himself

The president is hosting a rally Wednesday night on Washington’s National Mall, including a flyover by stealth bombers, military bands, singer Lee Greenwood of “God Bless the USA” fame and a Trump speech.

It comes as Trump works to convince Americans ahead of critical November midterm elections that he’s put the unpopular Iran war in the rearview mirror, with oil prices easing as the Strait of Hormuz has started to reopen in the wake of an interim deal to end the war with Tehran.

The event is part of weeks of celebrations about America and its 1776 founding as part of “The Great American State Fair” on the mall, the national park that stretches from the U.S Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

But Trump’s appearance onstage was only announced after several musicians — including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores — canceled their concerts because of concerns the event had become politicized. The president stepped into the void as he hyped his own ability to command a crowd.

Country singer Alexis Wilkins, the longtime girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, was among those who performed before Trump’s speech.

Among those addressing the crowd was Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who slammed the musicians who backed out. He called Trump “the greatest president that’s ever existed in this country since George Washington.”

Large swaths of the grass stayed empty for hours, but people began filling in the space shortly before Trump took the stage. Attendees included Karen and Brian Ontrap, who drove 500-plus miles from northwest Ohio with their children.

They planned the trip in January to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary and, for some in the group, see Washington for the first time

Standing in the shade near the stage before the president spoke, Karen Ontrap said the pair support the president “100%.” They were

among the early arrivals to the section of the National Mall that was cordoned off, with a concertstyle stage decked in U.S. flags at

NATO’s ‘Trump whisperer’ flatters president at meeting

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte laid on the flattery with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, pressing the case for a military alliance that the volatile U.S. leader has sharply criticized as the Pentagon reviews the size of the U.S. military footprint in Europe Trump has repeatedly slammed NATO, arguing the U.S. carries more than its fair share of military spending. But his grievances have been louder since the Iran war, as he fumed over the fact that some member countries ignored his call to help him restart oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

“They weren’t too nice to us in our recent little military skirmish,” Trump said of NATO allies as he introduced Rutte during their Oval Office meeting.

Subsequently pressed on what key U.S. allies could do to get back on his good side, Trump responded, “Just be loyal.”

“We don’t need their money we don’t need anything,” the president added.

“We have the most powerful military in the world by far But I just want loyalty.” Trump has renewed his threats to leave the 77-yearold alliance, raising the stakes before the NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey next month. But Rutte, who has become known as a Trump whisperer for his ability to charm the president, took on the now-familiar role of attempting to appease him anew. Rutte pushed back gently against Trump’s complaints, saying, “I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking, your European allies have been there with you.”

Washington on Wednesday.

He also noted that 4,000 to 5,000 U.S planes took off from bases in Europe before Iran and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire.

Rutte gushed about Trump having been “very harsh” with defense contractors, saying, “I had one of them over in my office. He was still trembling.”

That was a reference to Trump having held a series of meetings with Pentagon officials and leading military contractors at the White House recently, discussing ways to increase munitions production after the Iran war raised concerns about the U.S. eating into its stocks of missiles.

“This is your president, but also the leader of the free world, taking the leadership role, as is necessary,” Rutte told reporters in the Oval.

The visit, Rutte’s fifth since Trump returned to power last year, comes after U.S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week lashed out at allies during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. His department is in the midst of a six-month review of U.S. forces in Europe

Hegseth echoed some of Trump’s critiques, faulting European allies for not

letting the U.S. use bases in Europe to attack Iran.

NATO allies were not consulted about the war before the U.S. launched it with Israel on Feb. 28, and some have been openly critical of Trump’s strategy

Trump argues that NATO allies were not there for the U.S. and suggested leaving the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union. At the heart of their treaty is a mutual defense agreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all. The only time it has been invoked was in 2001, to support the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Trump spent long stretches not talking about NATO but instead boasting about his effort to beautify Washington. He even suggested that, two years ago, before he deployed the National Guard, the NATO chief might have “had a good chance of being mugged, although you’re a very big guy.”

“They would have mugged him up. They would have beaten the hell out of him,” Trump said to laughs.

one end and a mock White House exterior at the other

Organizers distributed rectangular cardboard American flags that some attendees used for shade. On the menu for the crowd: burgers, sausages and turkey legs. The program felt a lot like a summer concert, expect for the variety of American flag-themed outfits, from overalls to skirts to hats. There were also plenty of “Make America Great Again” hats.

Approval ratings in basement Trump has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters — causing his approval rating to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling. Democrats say his botched repairs to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and the resulting algae outbreak are a sign that he’s spending taxpayer money on vanity projects instead of the nation’s legacy Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said the Trump-affiliated group organizing the 250th anniversary was selling access to special in-

terests and redrafting the nation’s founding to the president’s liking, based on documents he presented at a congressional hearing earlier this year

“It should be about bringing us together,” Huffman said. “He’s trying to make this 250th celebration all about him.”

Trump’s fondness for showmanship has not been a match for public anxiety about his presidency Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of his economic leadership, with favorability at 40% on immigration and 34% on Iran.

“It’s clear that Trump’s preoccupations in his second term — from Iran to the Washington reflecting pool — are not those of most members of his base, let alone other Americans,” said Daniel Treisman, a politics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles

“That explains his unusually low approval ratings.”

Inflation still stubbornly high

Inflation is still higher than what Trump inherited and it has been outpacing wage growth. The budget deficit remains on a path upward that keeps interest rates high. Investments in artificial intelligence are driving growth, but they come with fears of middleclass job losses such that the construction of data centers needed for America’s tech economy have become controversial politically Trump has fueled dramas over tariffs, NATO, immigration, ownership of Greenland and his own renovations of iconic buildings and monuments in Washington generating a flood of controversy that has pushed things the administration sees as accomplishments — such as the capture of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro off the public radar

Jacob Wankasky and his family, traveling from Buffalo, New York, peeled off a day early from their trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania, when he and his wife, Jennifer, realized they could see Trump before their planned visit Thursday to the State Fair with their children, ages 4 and 6.

In a bright red “America Is Back” ballcap, Jacob Wankasky a 42-year-old antique mall owner said Trump’s return to the White House was a relief in a time of “insanity.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

People arrive before President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday at the opening of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington.

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the lone “no” vote and Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe, abstained.

Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, D-New Orleans, said she declined to vote because the court order forbids Landry from taking “all steps” to enact the funding cut, including any efforts to obtain lawmakers’ consent.

“I don’t believe they should have even counted the vote,” she said, adding that she does not think Landry has the legal authority to reallocate education funding through an executive order “I don’t even know how this is constitutional.”

The order was set to take effect July 1, if the Legislature gave its blessing. However, a Baton Rouge judge put the plan on hold after a group of education advocates last week filed a lawsuit arguing that

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about the plan, in a post on the social platform X, responding to a Times-Picayune | The Advocate article about it The governor said Entergy promised him they wouldn’t pass costs along to ratepayers, and he called on the PSC to ensure that doesn’t happen

“The PSC should not allow anyone to take advantage of power markets at the expense of our ratepayers,” the governor said in his post.

State Sen. Bob Hensgens, a prominent Republican lawmaker who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, is also wading into the issue. He recently sent a letter to PSC member Mike Francis that warns about data centers’ potential impact on customers’ electric bills.

“Recent developments, including the PSC consultant’s testimony that the plant’s need is driven principally by Meta’s data center ramp-up, underscore the risk that significant costs could be shifted onto residential and small commercial ratepayers absent stronger safeguards,” wrote Hensgens, who represents Abbeville.

Hensgens also asked the PSC to answer six questions about such projects, including whether it will explore a new policy for customers with large power needs and how it will handle the Cottonwood plant.

Entergy has won approval for a massive build-out of power plants and transmission lines to service Meta’s data center in north Louisiana, with an agreement that Meta will cover the costs for 15 years.

Entergy filed a separate plan to buy Cottonwood in December for $1.8 billion. Entergy said the 1,200 megawatt, gas-fired plant in Deweyville, Texas, is needed for general growth in power demand, not Meta. The PSC consultant, Lane Sisung, wrote in his filing that Meta should

PRIMARY

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they weren’t worried where they are,” Fleming said in an interview Wednesday “In a certain odd way, it’s reassuring to us.

“They are spending millions and millions of dollars trying to save her campaign.”

Probable voters in the Republican runoff received texts Wednesday that contained a pro-Letlow message from Trump.

“With your vote, she will protect your borders, your paychecks, your jobs and your Second Amendment,” Trump said in the text, which was paid for by an outside group called Save American Freedom.

Trump will participate in a “telerally” Thursday afternoon with Letlow, where supporters can call a toll-free number and listen in At the same time, an outside group associated with Gov Jeff Landry is spending heavily to try to taint Fleming enough to give Letlow the edge. The anti-Fleming campaign calls him “a fraud” and says he supports the flow of “illegal aliens” across the Mexican border

“Muchas gracias, John Fleming!” reads one side of a mailer featuring a brown-skinned man sporting ganglike tattoos of a marijuana leaf, a revolver and two skulls. “I voted” reads a red-whiteand-blue sticker on his shirt.

The Accountability Project, which is run by Landry’s campaign associates, sent the mailer to homes this week, as part of a bar-

Landry overstepped his legal authority by effectively reallocating education funding, which is controlled by the Legislature and the state board of education.

On Tuesday, state attorneys asked the court to lift the temporary restraining order, which they called an “unprecedented intrusion into the appropriations process.” On Wednesday, the plaintiffs — a former state education board member, a former school superintendent and a current Orleans Parish School Board member — filed a motion to preserve the order, arguing that the funding cut would cause “irreparable harm.”

The plaintiffs’ lawsuit also argues that proper legislative procedure was not followed. Landry issued the order after the legislative session ended June 1, so lawmakers voted electronically on the funding cut without a public debate.

Greg Beuerman, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday

that they believe the Legislature’s vote “carries no force of law”

because the temporary restraining order issued June 18 forbids Landry from taking “all steps” to enact the funding cut, including any efforts to obtain lawmakers’ consent.

“As the plaintiffs have maintained all along,” Beuerman said in a statement, “the appropriate and constitutionally correct course of action is for the governor to call the Legislature back into special session and to address this issue openly, transparently and with the kind of public input and engagement an issue of this importance deserves.”

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday

The legal battle follows a debate over how to boost average teacher pay in Louisiana, which has the 49th lowest rate in the country After voters rejected a state constitutional amendment to bankroll permanent raises, Landry proposed shifting the money out of

school budgets. He argued that most school systems have enough savings to cover the gap, adding that districts need to “tighten their belt.”

But school boards and superintendents loudly objected, saying Landry and lawmakers should find money for the stipends in the state budget rather than shift the burden onto schools. They also warned that the loss of state dollars would force some school systems, particularly in rural areas with limited local tax revenue, to eliminate programs or positions.

“I talked to some of them and they said, ‘I’m going to have to do a bunch of cutting,’ ” said Mike Faulk, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who previously led the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents “It’s more than talk — it’s facts.”

Some lawmakers said they did not want to cut school budgets, but they worried that Landry could veto funding for projects in their

pay for the plant if the PSC decides it’s needed to meet its demands for power He also warned the plant is unreliable, having sustained recent outages, and its private equity owners are charging a premium of about $1 billion to Entergy for the plant.

The PSC has not made Sisung available for comment.

“The scarcity conditions and resulting capacity needs relied upon by (Entergy) are being driven principally by the Meta-related ramp period rather than by general system load growth,” Sisung

rage of anti-Fleming ads that are citing a 2008 campaign comment by Fleming, which he said was a slip of the tongue that he immediately corrected Fleming said the ads are misleading since they don’t note his correction and his strong record on border security as a member of the House.

“I’ve never seen so much money being spent in the final 72 hours of the race It’s just unbelievable,” said Fleming campaign strategist Roy Fletcher, who has worked on Louisiana campaigns since the 1970s.

Fletcher, nonetheless, predicted that Fleming would win narrowly, citing a poll by his campaign taken on Sunday and Monday of 600 likely runoff voters by John Couvillon that had the treasurer up, 45%-40%.

Parker Carey, Letlow’s campaign manager, said their poll has her leading by 7 points.

“We are confident she is going to win,” he said.

While the Republican runoff has received most of the attention, farmer Jamie Davis and business owner Gary Crockett are facing off Saturday for the Democratic Party nod in a separate primary.

Davis led Crockett in the May 16 primary, 47% to 26%. During the campaign, Davis has raised $1.2 million, while Crockett has not collected any money Davis has a full campaign staff unlike Crockett — and has endorsements from the Louisiana Democratic Party, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and Indivisible NOLA, a grassroots group. Davis and Crockett are both

wrote. Commissioner Mike Francis, RCrowley, said in an interview that it’s too early to make a decision but that he generally trusts Sisung, who regularly analyzes utility deals on behalf of the PSC.

“If that’s his opinion, I’m going to be inclined to go with it,” Francis said. “But I haven’t seen all the details yet.”

Francis declined to comment on Hensgens’ letter, saying the PSC is already reviewing the issues raised.

Entergy Louisiana and Meta

blasting Trump’s moves on Iraq, taxes, spending and immigration enforcement.

The winner will advance to the Nov 3 general election and be the first Black finalist for a Senate campaign in Louisiana since Reconstruction.

GOP battle by the numbers

On the Republican ledger, little distinguishes Fleming and Letlow on the issues, so each side has seized on old comments or past votes to paint the other as a “liberal,” an epithet among conservative voters.

Both are pledging their fealty to Trump, although she has the president’s endorsement.

The expected overall low turnout of about 15% of voters is scrambling the analysis of who might win the Republican runoff and advance to the Nov 3 election. Republicans and no-party voters who didn’t vote in the Democratic Party primary are eligible to vote in the Republican runoff.

Rigamer is projecting that 300,000 to 320,000 people overall will vote in the Republican runoff, based on the eight-day early voting period that ended on Saturday

He found that early voting for the runoff was down by 25% for Republicans and 50% for Democrats compared to early voting for the May 16 primary

Rigamer conducted two polls on Monday and Tuesday

In one, he surveyed 600 people who had already voted in the Republican runoff. The result: Fleming with 43.8% and Letlow with 42.5%. That’s a statistical tie since it was within 3.5 points of the mar-

districts if they voted against his plan, according to people who spoke with them. Other lawmakers said they did not want already underpaid teachers to lose the stipends.

“Our teachers and our support personnel have earned this,” Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, said Monday Louisiana educators overwhelmingly want to receive the one-time pay bumps, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union, which surveyed its members. But nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said they oppose Landry’s plan to pay for the stipends by cutting school budgets, the union said.

“I support teacher pay raises,” said Duplessis, the only senator to vote against the plan. “But I don’t believe that we should fund teacher pay raises by taking from public education.”

Staff writer Quinn Coffman contributed reporting.

wise had to pay for themselves — reducing future customer bills in the process.”

Meta has rebuffed claims that the company would be violating a recent pledge with the White House that tech companies will pay for their own power needs when building data centers.

“This consultant’s report is inaccurate speculation given the facility will provide power to multiple Entergy customers and Entergy planned to acquire it before Meta decided to build in Louisiana,” Meta spokesperson Francis Brennan said in a statement last week “Meta pays its own way, both for the power and new infrastructure we use. Our agreement with Entergy is built to guarantee we pay those costs, not Louisianans.”

Hensgens said in an interview that the consultant’s report about Cottonwood raises questions about whether regular customers are going to see cost hikes as a result of data centers.

“It’s fine if they want to pass that on to Meta,” Hensgens said. “It’s not fine if they want to socialize it to the ratepayers.”

insist that Sisung’s testimony is wrong and that the plant is needed for general demand growth, not the data center Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardigli said in a statement Tuesday that Louisiana customers would “only pay for their power” from Cottonwood, and Meta would pay for its share.

“Entergy Louisiana customers are not only NOT paying for Meta’s power, but the reverse is happening,” Scardigli said. “Meta is paying for grid improvements and maintenance that our Louisiana customers would have other-

gin of error In another poll, Rigamer surveyed 600 people who had voted in the May 16 Republican primary but hadn’t yet voted in the runoff. In that poll, Letlow led, 42.8% to 35.8%.

The two sets of numbers suggest that Letlow has the advantage, because early voting typically accounts for about one-third of the overall vote. But Rigamer cautioned that Letlow’s advantage on Saturday is likely to be lessened because of the projected lower turnout.

“It’s all about who gets their vote out,” the pollster said. What to know about candidates

Fleming was a family physician in Minden, east of Shreveport, when he was elected to the U.S. House in 2008 representing northwest Louisiana. Over the next eight years, he voted consistently against President Barack Obama’s initiatives and helped co-found the House Freedom Caucus, perhaps the most conservative wing within the Republican Party in Washington.

Fleming ran for the Senate in 2016, lost and went on to serve four years in the first Trump administration, including the final 10 months as the president’s deputy chief of staff. He was elected treasurer in 2023. Fleming, 74, is banking on his grassroots network to turn out to overcome Letlow’s huge spending advantage.

“Fleming is capturing the outsider spirit to overturn the establishment,” said Pearson Cross, a political science professor at the

Hensgens asked the PSC to consider establishing a policy for customers that need huge amounts of power like data centers. The commissioners have fast-tracked Entergy’s plans for Meta, raising concerns from advocacy groups. Hensgens added that he wants to see the PSC allow large customers to procure power outside of the traditional process, a long-running desire of the Louisiana Energy Users Group, which represents industrial customers. LEUG has called on the PSC to let its members get power from other sources than Entergy

The PSC will ultimately vote on whether to approve Entergy’s request to buy Cottonwood. Two of the five elected members — Republican Eric Skrmetta and Democrat Davante Lewis — have already flagged concerns with the plan Skrmetta said he won’t consider voting to approve it.

University of Louisiana at Monroe. “This may indicate that the Trump brand is losing credence in Louisiana.”

Letlow, who has a doctorate from South Florida University, planned to spend her career in higher education. She was serving as a senior staffer at the University of Louisiana at Monroe when her husband Luke was elected to the House in 2020 — but then died from COVID-19 five days before he took office.

Letlow captured the seat in a special election, won reelection in 2022 and 2024 and jumped into the Senate race in January after Trump endorsed her Letlow, 45, is banking on Trump and her support from Louisiana’s political establishment.

She held a meet-and-greet Monday at the office of Jefferson Parish’s preeminent political consultant, Greg Buisson, and the elected officials in attendance included Sen. Kirk Talbot of River Ridge, Sen. Greg Miller of Norco, Rep. Laurie Schlegel of Metairie, Rep. Polly Thomas of Metairie, Rep. John Illg of Harahan, Rep Mike Bayham of Chalmette, Rep. Kim Carver of Mandeville, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto and Plaquemines Parish President Keith Hinkel.

A pianist in the corner of the room played the refrain from Jimmy Davis’ “You Are My Sunshine” as Letlow was introduced. “I got that unbelievable, unimaginable call from the Big Man, and I don’t mean the Lord,” Letlow told the crowd. “He encouraged me to run for the seat, and that meant the world to me.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Construction workers raise new power poles at the Meta data center site in Holly Ridge on March 10.

Well,

ridge is still in place, expect more of the sametoday.So, your Thursday will be mostly sunnytopartly cloudy, hot and humid with alight southwestbreeze. Temperatures thisafternoon willrisetothe low 90s and with high humidity,temperatures willfeel likethey’re in the triple digits. Rain chances are low, butthe UV index is at the extremelevel,soprotect yourself.

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Attorney General LizMurrill’soffice into the fight days earlier at Keith Young’ssteakhouse, where he attacked Bobby Couvillion, a vocal critic, in front of aroom full of patrons. According to Murrill’s investigators, Smithcameupfrom behind Couvillion and puthim in a chokehold before pulling himto the ground and beating him.

The sheriff had consumed multiple drinks before attacking Couvillion and had to be pulled off him by patrons and staff,according to acopy of the pleaagreement. Smith was at the restaurant with bail bondsman Greg Saurage, investigators said.

In anews conference following Smith’splea, northshoreDistrict Attorney Collin Sims said that the agreement was aimed at treating the sheriff thesame way anyone else would be treated under the same circumstances.

“He acted out, and as aresult of that sobriety issue, we’re giving him an opportunityand apaththat we afford every other citizen in this parish to earn amisdemeanor if they address the issue that caused it,” Sims said.

Smith joins ahandful of other top St. Tammany Parish officials in the past decadeand ahalf who have ended their careers with afelony conviction: Smith’spredecessor, former Sheriff Jack Strain, whois serving life in prison for child sex crimes, and former District Attorney Walter Reed and St. Tammany Coroner Peter Galvan, who both served time in federal prison on corruption charges

“It’sbeyond disappointing, it’s ashame, it’ssad that these things occurred, butthey did,” St. Tammany Parish Council member Jerry Binder,one of the longest servingelected officials in theparish, said in an interview Wednesday.

“Each person went through the legal system properly and asentence was given. Ijust hope and praythat in this case, the treatment that’sbeen assignedtohim helps him to make abetter life for himself.” Wednesday’shearing took less than 30 minutes, with Smithwalking quickly into the courtroom at about 9:30 a.m., avoiding the mediagathered outside. He glanced at the roughly two dozen people

behind him in the courtroom’s galley —including local lawyers, reporters and community group members —and sat down next to hisattorney,Eric Hessler

Couvillion sat in the front row behind the prosecutors’ table, between hiswife and his attorney Couvillion filed his victim impact statement with thecourt He did notread it,but acopy was providedtothe media by Sims’ office. Init, Couvillion said thathe was “grateful that the truth came to light and that justicewas not sweptunder the rug simply because of whowas involved.”

Smith gave hisplea and said he was prepared to face theconsequences. He agreed to not have any contactwithCouvillionor Couvillion’sfamily going forward.

Badeaux told Smith “good luck to you in the future,” and Smith was handed over to bailiffs for processing.

Smith turned his guns in to the

By

Northshoreresident BobbyCouvillion makeshis wayout of the St.TammanyParish Justice Center in Covington on Wednesday

Sheriff’s Office before his hearing, spokesperson Lt. Suzanne Carboni said. He will likely not be stripped of hisstate pension, according to RafaelGoyenecheIII, presidentof the Metropolitan CrimeCommission,partly because theoffense he pleaded guilty to was notrelated to his duties as sheriff.

In anewsconferenceafter the court proceeding, Sims said that part of thereason he pushedfor Smith’simmediateresignation was to remove him from theagency ahead of Saturday’selection, in which St. Tammany residents will votewhether to renew amillage thatfunds deputies’ salaries. “We don’tneed to have aprotestvote,” Simssaid.

Sims said he could notrelease video footage of the incident because of theother defendant, Saurage, whohas been arrested on one count of beinga principal to second-degree battery.Simsalso said he could not speak to details of the

investigationinto Smith, though he said search warrants were issued andphones seized. According to the plea agreement, however,Sims hasagreed nottobring furthercharges against Smith relating to the attack. Smith will go through the 21st Judicial District Court’sdrug court program, sincethe 22ndJudicialDistrict Court’sspecialty court judge recused herself. The program will last between 15 and 18 months, Simssaid.

Sims also declinedtocomment aboutwhether Smith’ssecondin-command and former deputy chief, Jeff Boehm, who abruptly resignedonTuesday,was under criminal investigation. Aphone call and text message to anumber listed for Boehm went unanswered on Wednesday Bret Ibert,anearly 30-year veteran of the agency,will now serve as interim sheriff until aspecial election is held.

“When the citizens choose their next sheriff, Iwill do everything within my power to support aprofessional, transparent, and seamless transition,” Ibert said in a statement. Ibert was not available for an interview on Wednesday,a spokesperson said. Aspecial election hastobecalled because Smithresignedmorethan ayear before his term expires on June 30, 2028, according to secretary of state’s spokesperson John Long. Long saidthe “governing authority,” which he said was most likely the St. Tammany Parish Council, now has 20 days to call an election to fill the seat. If the council calls forthe election by July 8, it will be held in thefall. If thecallfor the electioncomes after July 8, it will be held the following spring. If the governing authority doesn’ttake action, Gov.Jeff Landry will have to callthe election, Long said.

STAFFPHOTO

BRETT DUKE

‘THE

POTENTIAL IS LIMITLESS’

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

The ShrineonAirline, once home to New Orleans’ professionalbaseball andrugby teams, will undergo aroughly $30 million face-lift over thenext year to add amultipurpose sports field,visitors’ side seating and aconcert stage in hopes of attracting new tenants to Metairie.

What won’t be included in the new renovations: baseball.

“This will notbeabaseball facility,” saidTommy Cvitanovich, acommissioner to theLouisiana Stadium and Exposition District andowner of Drago’srestaurant. “Baseball has failed here.”

The LSED and Jefferson Parish will pause all programming at theShrine for thenext year while they reconfigure the stadium’s diamond shape intoa rectangular football field using old turf from theCaesars Superdome. It will build new stands along the sidelineswhere first andthird base are currently located.

On the south endofthe field near thescoreboard, the new facility will have apermanent stage to more easily host concerts or music festivals as well.

Officialssay constructionwill be complete by June 2027, so the

Omni’s hotelclears tax, zoning hurdles

27-story project still needs finalvote

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

Developers behind the proposed Omni New Orleans secured two key approvals Wednesday that backers of the dedicated convention center hotel say are necessary for makingthe long-sought project areality

Following aset of public hearings, the City Council approved ameasure that would allow the Omni’sdevelopers to build the 1,000-room hotel to 27 stories, exceeding theexisting height limit in the surrounding Warehouse District neighborhood by morethan 200 feet. Separately,aspecial board that oversees a taxing district encompassingthe proposed hotel approved the major terms of a45-year property tax incentive.

Both measures must still be finalized and voted on againbythe council before they go into effect.

Still, they markasignificant victory forthe developers, officials with the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and leaders of the city’s hospitality industry,who have long argued that New Orleans needs anew,large, high-end hotel near the ConventionCentertoremain competitive with peer cities in attracting major events like the Super Bowl.

“Weare gratefultothe NewOrleansCity Council for their support of the Omni New Orleans project,” NewOrleans &Co. President and CEO Walt Leger III said. “Peer citiesare investing aggressively in their tourism

District1 race covers most of N.O.

BYALYSE PFEIL

State Rep. Stephanie Hilfer-

ty of New Orleans and former JeffersonParish President John Young are competing Saturday in the Republican primary for achance to represent southeast Louisiana on

apowerfulstate boardthat regulates public utilities. Thewinner of theGOP primary runofffor thePublic Service Commission seat will advance to theNovember gen-

eral election and face Democrat Connie Norris of Slidell and Chris Justin, ano-party candidate. District 1onthe PSCleans Republican, andthe GOP candidateisfavored to win in November.The district includes portions of Jefferson, Livingston,Orleans and St.Charles parishes. It also covers the parishesofPlaquemines, St.

Bernard, St. Helena, St.Tammany,Tangipahoaand Washington. Eric Skrmetta, aMetairie Republican, is vacating the seat due to termlimits. The five-member commission plays akey role in major decisions like Entergy’spurchase of a$1.8 billion power plant in Texas and whether consumers foot the bill forit, whether 10 power plants can be built to support agiant $27

New Orleansofficials plantoextend afinancial lifeline to French Quarter businesses batteredbythe constructionrelated road closures that have constrictedlower Decaturand St.Peter streets for nearly ayear

Mayor Helena Morenosaid Wednesday that several nonprofit groups and public bodies have

Jefferson Parish has begun a$28.5 million renovation of the Shrine on Airline baseball stadium in Metairie on Wednesday.

Seating is removedasJefferson Parish renovatesthe Shrine on Airline baseball stadium.

Planned Parenthood to open new facility in N.O.

In-person care to be offered

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Planned Parenthood will expand services to Louisiana and bring inperson care back to New Orleans after ceasing operations in the state last year due to funding issues, officials announced Wednesday morning.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains network plans to expand telehealth services across the state this summer before opening a New Orleans location in the fall, organizers said in a news release.

Last September, Planned Parenthood ceased operations in the state after more than 40 years, closing its reproductive health clinics in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

The closures were part of a wave across the U.S. after the Trump Administration cut off the organization’s access to federal money

“Patients and community supporters have made clear they want Planned Parenthood back in Louisiana,” Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement.

“We’re committed to ensuring care returns quickly and that this next phase builds on the decades of Planned Parenthood history here.”

The closure of the two Planned

Parenthood clinics last year was met with praise by Gov Jeff Landry and other state Republican officials, who say the organization promotes abortion. Health providers and advocates raised alarms that the closures would limit access to sexual and reproductive health services, especially to those uninsured and without Medicaid.

While the nonprofit was never licensed to provide abortions in the state, Planned Parenthood provided other healthcare services to more than 10,000 people in Louisiana before its retreat.

The return of a New Orleans site was welcomed as “critically important” by Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Dr

Jennifer Avegno.

“Expanding quality reproductive health access in Louisiana is critically important to improve our maternal and infant outcomes and support healthy families,” Avegno said in a statement. “The more we can remove barriers and bring robust services where they are needed most, the healthier our community will be.”

Landry’s office did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday

The New Orleans location will provide contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, gender-affirming care, pregnancy testing, perimenopause and menopause care, vasectomies,

cancer screenings and other care, the organization said. It will not provide abortion care. Louisiana has a near-total ban on the procedures enacted in 2022 after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Officials did not say where the new clinic would be located in the city Its previous facility was a 7,000-square-foot clinic on South Claiborne Avenue.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains is an affiliate of Planned Parenthood that includes Arkansas, Kansas, western Missouri and Oklahoma. Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma will be providing care in Louisiana, according to the organization.

Slidell man accused of illegally selling trout

Fish plates were sold out of home, officials say

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Louisiana sport anglers are sometimes tempted to sell their catch to earn a few extra dollars, but a recent alleged example was a reminder that it is illegal to do so under state law

A Slidell man accused of offering fried speckled trout plates at $15 each has been cited by enforcement agents with the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Agents allege Markeegan J Gray, 22, caught the fish recreationally, then offered them for sale.

Agents had received a report that fried fish plates were being sold from a Slidell home, the department said in a statement. An investigation determined the plates were being offered for sale on social media on May 30, according to the department.

Gray allegedly admitted to catching the trout in Lake Pontchartrain about two weeks before, it said. He was issued a citation and 104 trout filets were seized. They were donated to a local charity

Selling fish caught recreationally carries a $400 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail, the department says. Gray will also be assessed with civil restitution totaling $1,625 for the speckled trout that he was accused of selling illegally.

Speckled trout, officially known as spotted sea trout, are tightly regulated under state law They have been found to be overfished, and the state has been seeking to rebuild stocks, in part through tightened regulations on sport anglers.

The current limit on sport fishing is 15 fish per person per day, with a 13-inch minimum size. In addition to the minimum size, only two fish larger than 20 inches can be kept.

The state allows a 1-millionpound quota for commercial fishing each year for speckled trout. They can only be caught with a rod and reel, and a commercial license is required.

Email Mike Smith at msmith@theadvocate.com.

PRIMARY

Continued from page 1B

billion Meta data center, and oversight of millions of dollars of corporate incentives to attract businesses like the planned Hyundai steel mill. Broadly the PSC regulates electric, water, wastewater, natural gas and some telecommunications services. The candidates Hilferty, 40, was elected to the Louisiana House in 2015 and represents parts of Jefferson and Orleans parishes. She’s worked in commercial real estate for close to 20 years.

TREATMENT MILESTONE

Daniel Cressy, left, the first person in Louisiana to receive a groundbreaking gene therapy for sickle cell disease, celebrated a key milestone in his treatment on Tuesday at Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans. During an event attended by Gov Jeff Landry, Mayor Helena Moreno, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter and other civic leaders, Cressy rang a bell symbolizing that he has been functionally cured of the disease. Read more about his story at nola.com, where reporters and photographers have spent the past year chronicling his treatment journey

LIMITLESS

Shrine can host the high school football season that follows.

“For the Catholic league to have rivalry games in this stadium, this facility, without a visitor sideline Jefferson Parish is much better than that,” Cvitanovich said.

Once finished, the new facility will house football, soccer, rugby and lacrosse, as well as entertainment events. The new stadium will have roughly 9,000 seats, down 1,000 from its current configuration Cvitanovich said.

Continued from page 1B PROVIDED RENDERING

LSED officials previously said they’ve been in talks with the United States Football League and United Soccer League about bringing teams to the Shrine. Jefferson Parish Council member Deano Bonano said at a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday that discussions with minor league teams were ongoing

“The potential is limitless,”

She said the race is “about families staring at utility bills that keep climbing for reasons they had no say in,” and she is focused on fighting for ordinary ratepayers, rather the shareholders of utility companies.

“People want accountability and transparency about where their money goes, and they’re not getting it from the good ole boy system that’s run the PSC for too long,” Hilferty said. She has said affordability and reliability of the power grid are the top issues she would be focused on as a commissioner, and costs for power generation for data centers should not be shouldered by ratepayers. Young, 68, was Jefferson Parish president from 2010 through

An artist’s rendering depicts what the Shrine on Airline in Metairie will look like once remodeling is completed.

Bonano said.

Construction will be funded by $16 million in council discretionary funds, most of which was made available through $84 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars. The state also approved $14.6 million for the project in this

2016. Before that, he served on the Jefferson Parish Council for several years and he was an assistant district attorney there. He lives in Metairie and is an attorney with a civil litigation practice.

“My top priorities as a public service commissioner are straightforward: protect ratepayers, keep utility costs as low as possible, ensure reliable power for every customer and push back against state or federal actions that could raise costs or threaten grid stability,” Young said.

Young has said he is running because Louisiana’s economy is at a transformative inflection point, and the PSC will play a critical role as businesses seek to invest billions of dollars in Louisiana. He has said companies need to

year’s legislative session. The LSED tapped LaBella Associates, based in Rochester, New York, to design the project and Broadmoor LLC for construction.

Built in 1997, the Shrine served as the home field for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, which was

pay their own way for infrastructure and power generation to operate, and they should not pass those costs on to ratepayers.

Open seats on the PSC

The District 5 seat representing north Louisiana is also open due to term limits, and Democrat Foster Campbell will end his time on the commission. Republican John Atkins, a Caddo Parish commissioner, and Democrat James Green, a Shreveport City Council member, each won their closed party primaries outright on May 16 and will face each other in the November election.

The other three commissioners who are not up for reelection are Jean-Paul Coussan, a Republican representing parts of south-cen-

renamed the New Orleans Baby Cakes in 2016. The Baby Cakes left for Wichita, Kansas, after the 2019 season.

The Shrine also housed Major League Rugby’s NOLA Gold Team from 2020 until 2025, when the team announced it wouldn’t participate in the 2026 season and pulled out of its tenancy at the Shrine.

The Shrine has also hosted high school football games for three years in a row Jefferson Parish will also get a new, smaller baseball stadium about 2 miles away at Jefferson Playground, which is expected to cost $7.8 million in parish and state funds and has received interest from Loyola University as a potential home field. And in Kenner, the parish is pursuing another concert venue with the construction of a multimillion-dollar amphitheater that will have a seating capacity of roughly 11,000.

Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.

tral Louisiana; Davante Lewis, a Democrat representing the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans and parts of the river parishes in between; and Mike Francis, a Republican representing southwest Louisiana.

LOTTERY TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026

PICK 3: 5-9-6

PHOTO PROVIDED By JEFF STROUT/MANNING FAMILy CHILDREN’S

DISRUPTION

Continued from page1B

“Wecan provide them with alittle bit of funding so that theycan get assistance with rent or help pay utilities and so that they can sustainuntil the project finally wraps up in the fall,” Morenosaid aday earlier Moreno said in anews release that businesses with fewer than eightemployees will receive aone-time payment of $2,500, while those with eight or more will receive twice that.

To qualify,businesses must face the construction project street boundaries and must have owned and continuously operated a business or commercial enterprise since Jan. 1, 2025. They must also have lost revenue that can be reasonably blamed on the construction project.

The Business Stabilization Fund can only be tapped by businesses located along the 900, 1000, and 1100 blocks of Decatur Street and the 600 block of Peter Street.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation will administer the grants, while the statecreated French Quarter Management District and city-owned French Market Corporation are assisting.

“The French Quarter Management District Board has expressedits support for the Mayor’s proposed French Quarter Business Relief Fund,”

FQMD Executive Director Michelle Courseault said in an email Tuesday.“The matter is currently under review by the district’slegal counsel. Until that review is complete, FQMD has no further comment.”

Meanwhile, Greater New Orleans Inc., the regional economic development nonprofit with experience establishing business continuation funds, has offered to provide advice on how to make the program

effective.

The announcement ofthe relief effort comes as the Sewerage &Water Board’s projecttoreplacethe 115-year-old water mains below Decatur between Esplanade Avenue and Dumaine Street approaches its second year

The $9.8 million project was originally scheduled for completion in May.S&WBofficials have blamed high river levels lastyear for delaying the start of the project and the discovery of historicalartifacts below St. Peter Street that triggered afederal review.

The possibility ofonetimefinancialassistance follows monthsofescalating complaints over barricades, fenced-off sidewalks and stop-and-start contractor work. Moreno has repeatedly faulted the S&WB for tearingupseveral blocksatonce ratherthan working block by block. This week, she saidcityofficials wouldbekeeping a closeeye on the progress of theroadwork

“We’re going to be using our camera system toalso monitor thework on the street,tomake sure that contractors are doing the work when they’re supposedtobedoing the work, to make sure that there’s accountability there,”

Moreno said So far, the closures of at least three DecaturStreet businesses —the restaurants Cafe Sbisa andLUFU NOLA and the handicraft shop Dead on Decatur have beenattributedtothe road closures and sidewalk restrictions.

Aco-owner and executive chef of LUFU Nola, the Michelin BibGourmand restaurantthat shuttered its DecaturStreet location earlierthismonth, said he would welcome anyopportunity for financial relief.

“Wewouldlove to be a part of it,” Shan Samantary said. “The reason why we closed down therestaurant

OMNI

Continued from page1B

infrastructure, and with this approval, we will ensure New Orleans continues to compete at the highest level.”

Pros andcons

The day’sevents followed an unusual schedule that began Wednesday morning at City Hall, where the council heard public comments on a motion to create anew zoning district for the proposed hotel that would allow it to exceed existing height regulationsinthe neighborhood.

Omni New Orleans’ proposal includes a27-story tower that rises 336 feet over theWarehouseDistrict. Thecity’s existing height limit is 125 feet.

Omni’s developers have said they need tobuild a 1,000-room hotel in order to accommodate thekind of large, high-end groups the project is designed to attract in the firstplace. An earlier,shorter,version of the hotel was scrapped because neighbors didnot want to lose anearby park that would have beensacrificed for the project.

Among those voicingconcerns at Wednesday’smeeting were members of alocal service workers union, who argued that Omni should agree to worker protections before winning the approval of city leaders

“It’sareal struggle to survive in this city …especially if you have aservice job,” said Bunny White, acashier at the Smoothie King Center and Caesar’sSuperdome and

was because of the construction.”

In aseparate endeavor, District CCity Council member FreddieKing III has been working to help secure low-interest loans for affected businesses, though nothing has been finalized.

King said distributing grants for businesses harmed by theSW&B’sconstruction project is agood opportunity fora publicprivatepartnership.

“Smallbusinessesare the economic lifelineof the city,nomatter where they are,” King said. “And this is an example of the administration, the council and the businesses community —private,nonprivate —coming together to help out small businesses.”

Cane &Table owner Neal Bodenheimer saidhis restaurant continuestolose out on both day-to-day and event-related businessas the closure drags on, with alargeevent tied to next month’sTales of theCocktail convention having just beencanceled due to the construction.

Though aone-timegrant is unlikely to make up for all the sales that have been lost, Bodenheimer saidit would nonethelessbemuch appreciated amid theannual summer slowdown for theservice industry

“It’sanacknowledgement from thecity, andparticularly from the mayor,that goes alongway to say ‘Hey,weare paying attention, finally,’”Bodenheimer said.

“Toknowthatthatthere maybesomesort of lifeline —I can’timagine it’ll be abig one, but anything to acknowledge that this has been ahorrific stretch for thebusinesses on Decatur— means something to everybody.”

Staff writer Joni Hess contributed to this report. Email Jonah Meadows at jonah.meadows@ theadvocate.com.

The redesigned Omni Hotel on Convention Center Boulevard will have just over 1,000 rooms and serve as a new‘headquarters hotel’ for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center It is scheduled to be completed in 2030.

RENDERING PROVIDED By RULE JOyTRAMMELL + RUBIO,ARCHITECTS

amember of UNITE HERE Local 23 “The city shouldn’t approve this project when the developers haven’t shown that the workers down there would be able to afford to live andraise a family in New Orleans.”

Speaking insupportofthe hotelwereleaders from the GreaterNew OrleansAFLCIO and alocal construction workersunion,who highlighted its promiseofcreating over 2,500 construction jobs over the course ofabout four years.

“Thisproject would createopportunities forour local union contractors… to put their employees, our members, people in the community,towork,” said AndyO’Brien, executive secretary of the Southeast Louisiana Building &Trades Council.

After nearly 90 minutes of testimony,the council tabled themotion without avote. They later recessedtoallow councilmemberstoattend aseparate meetingofthe board of the New Orleans ExhibitionHallAuthority Economic Growth and DevelopmentDistricttoconsider the tax incentive

Theboard —comprised of Convention Center board members, council President JP Morrelland District B council memberLesli Harris —voted to approve a proposed payment-in-lieuof-taxes, or PILOT,for the hotel

That proposal, which stillneeds the approval of thecouncil,would require Omni to pay its full property tax bill to theOrleans Parish School Board. But in lieu of paying property taxes at thehotel’sassessed value to

NewOrleans Area Deaths

Anderson, Linda

thecity,Omniwould make a payment based on the averagepropertytax paid by a group of competing hotels.

ThePILOT wouldalso require Omni to provide a minimum of 500 full-time jobs, award at least20% of its construction work to disadvantagedbusinesses and procure at least 30% of its goods andservicesfor itsdesignand construction from Louisiana-basedcompanies. Morrell said he negotiated those requirements into thePILOT alongside Council Vice President Matt Willard, after determining thatthe original proposal wasn’tinthe city’sinterest

After thePILOT was approved, the council reconvenedatCity Hall, where they unanimously voted to approvethe zoning district motion.The item instructs thecity’sLaw Department to drawupanordinance that would be voted on at alater meeting.

“Forthe city of New Orleans to reach its pinnacle, for us to trulyget in apositionwhere we can thrive as acommunity,it’sgoing to take development and it’s going to take investment,” Willardsaid after thevote.

In addition to final approvals by thecouncil and the Convention Center board, thehotel developers must still get approval from state lawmakersfor astate sales taxincentive.Lawmakers have twice delayed voting on that measure. Thenext meeting of the budget committee that will decide the issue is in August.

Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate. com.

at St.Peter Claver Catholic Church at 1923 St.Philip Street,New Orleans, LA 70116 at 10:00am on June 27, 2026. Intermentwill be at MountOlivet Cemetery at 2050 Caton Street, New Orleans, LA 70122. The repass willfollow at St PeterClaver Cafeteria.

Bertrand, Ronald Bordelon Sr., Stephen Carre Jr., David Bordelon Sr., Stephen P.

Ferdinand, Bernice Garnier, Gordon Green,Magnolia Heath, Joyce Jackson, Fannie Scrivens,Doris Taylor,Steve Williams Jr., Joshua Wilson, Myria

EJefferson

Leitz-Eagan

Bordelon Sr., Stephen NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Jackson, Fannie

Scrivens,Doris

Wilson, Myria

Charbonnet

Anderson, Linda Ferdinand, Bernice

DW Rhodes

Williams Jr., Joshua Gertrude Geddes

Heath, Joyce

Littlejohn FH

Green,Magnolia St Tammany Bagnell Son Taylor,Steve Obituaries Anderson,Linda

Linda"Louise"Ander‐son,a lifelong resident of New Orleansand theDe‐sirecommunity area,was bornonDecember29, 1956 and enteredeternal rest on Sunday, June 7, 2026 at the age of 69. Lindaattended GeorgeWashingtonCarver HighSchool.Beloved com‐panionofCarlSpencer LovingmotherofKendra (Robert)Jones,Jeanne and Juanita Anderson.Sisterof Phyllis Davalie, Eleanor and Brenda Anderson Linda wasa devoted grandmother,Godmother, aunt,cousinand friend She wasprecededindeath byher parents, Juanita Johnson andBen Gordon; son,Kendron Anderson and greatgranddaughter A'saniApparicio.All arein‐vited to attend aHomego‐ing Servicehonoringthe lifeand legacy of thelate Linda Anderson at Gentilly Baptist Church,5141 FranklinAvenue,New Or‐leans,LA, on Saturday June 27, 2026 at 11 am.In‐terment Providence Memo‐rialParkCemetery. Visita‐tion9 am in thechurch Pleasesignonlineguest‐book at www.charbonnetf uneralhome.com. Charbon‐net LabatGlapion,Direc‐tors(504) 581-4411

Stephen P. Bordelon, Sr passedaway on Saturday, June 20, 2026. He wasborn on February 22, 1937 to Winton and Mamie Bordelon in NewOrleans LA.

Stephen joined the United States militaryat17 years old. He proudly served hiscountry and received four honorable discharges. Hishonorable discharges include;The United States Navy in 1955, The United States Army in 1958, The United States MarineCorps in 1961 and The Louisiana Army NationalGuard in 1962. He wasa qualifiedparachutist with the11th Airborne Division of the United States Army. Stephen was agraduate of theNew OrleansPolice Academy andwas assigned to the3rd District, whereheworkedfor many years. He received Certificates of Merit recognizinghim foroutstanding service,and in 1960 he received theMedalofMerit forhis bravery beyondthe call of duty. He later was assigned to theDistrict Attorney's Office, wherehe served underJim Garrison, andhis final assignment waswith theNew Orleans Coroner's Office, wherehe served underDr. Frank Minyard. After hisretirementfromthe NOPD, he remained an active memberofthe Fraternal Order of Police Stephen had thespirit for livinglife. He foundjoy in thesimple pleasures of gathering over ameal and sharingstories together. Hisenergyand wisdom were expressed often through thestorytellingof hislifewith vivid detailing. He leaves behind alegacy of wisdom that will never be forgottenbyhis friends andfamily.

Married to GloriaD Bordelon for 67 years, they resided in Metairie, LA. Stephen andGloriashared twochildren, Stephen P. Bordelon, Jr.and Pamela Bordelon Hunley

Stephen was preceded in death by hisparents Mamie and Winton Bordelon; hiswife,Gloria D. Bordelon;his sister, Sylvia B. Fastoff; hisbrother-in-law, Adam L. Fastoff, Sr.; hisson,Stephen P. Bordelon, Jr.; andhis nephew,AdamL.Fastoff, Jr Survivors include his daughter, Pamela Bordelon Hunley (James); granddaughter, NicoleBordelon Johnson(Paul); great grandchildren, Sullivan Ray, DominicRossand Sebastian Paul. He is also survived by nieces Angelle

Fastoff, AnnetteTerrell (Brett), and Alison Smith (Stephan) of Metairie, LA; great nieceand nephews; Christian Smith, Joseph Fastoff, Grant Smith, Chloe Terrell,and Griffin Terrell; hislifelongfriend, Louis B. Merhige; andmanyother relativesand friends.

Visitation will be held at St Angela Merici Church 901 BeverlyGarden Dr., Metairie, LA on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. AMass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12:00 pm. Intermentwill follow mass in Lake LawnPark Mausoleum, NewOrleans, LA.

Carré, David M.

Captain David M. Carré Jr., USNRET, 92 passed away at Westminster Canterbury on June 23, 2026. He waspredeceased by hisparents, Moreyand Dorothy Carré Captain Carré wasborn in NewOrleans in 1933, graduatedfromIsidore Newman School class of 1951 andThe U. S. Naval Academy class of 1956. He served 23 years in the SubmarineService commanding USSTECUMSEH (SSBN 628) (GOLD). He retiredfromthe Navy in 1979 and lived in Virginia Beach, VA untilhis death.Hewas an avidgolfer, shooting his age most of thetime. He is survived by his wife, LynnReederCarré, hischildren, Catherine Gross (Chris) of Lexington, SC, Deborah Arnold of Virginia Beach, VA and David M, Carré,III (Maggie O'Shea) of Castlemaine Victoria, Australia. Also his grandchildrenErinGross Snelting(Jon) andgreat granddaughter Clara of Cincinnati, OH,Ryan Gross of Round Rock, TX, Tyler Arnold (Melissa), great grandchildrenMason and Mary Catherineof Chesapeake, VA andNellie, Lucy andHarriett O'SheaCarré of Castlemaine,AU. Hisvolunteer work included FaithWorks Coalition,Hope Haven and Lee's Friends. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the WestminsterCanterbury Employee Education Fund or WestminsterCanterbury Employee EmergencyFund or acharity of choice. He hasdonatedhis body to science. Amemorial service will be held at Westminster Canterbury, 3100 ShoreDr., Virginia Beach, VA on June 27, 2026 at 10:00am.

Ferdinand, Bernice Frances'Granny

Bernice“Granny Frances Ferdinand, aloving wife, acaringmother, a doting grandmother, great See more DEATHS, page

Bertrand, Ronald Anthony

OUR VIEWS

GNOInc.’s

Hechtleaving a long trailof business and civicsuccess

There aren’tmany places where an economic development advocate is ahousehold name.But MichaelHecht,who recentlyannounced he will step down in 2027 after 18 years as president and CEO of Greater New OrleansInc., hasdone far more than negotiate taxincentivesand recruit companies to the region. He’s been ahighprofile civic leader,one who understands that thebest way to sella communitytoinvestorsis to makeita place that worksfor everyone. An energetic communicator and naturalconvener, Hecht has left his mark on abroad range of initiatives.

In 2013, GNO Inc. founded the Coalitionfor Sustainable Flood Insurance, which encompasses 250 organizations across 35 statesand advocates for policiesinvolving everything from mitigationand mapping to affordability and program participation.

When crime in the city wasspiraling in 2022, he organized the NOLA Coalition,a diverse group of more than 180 nonprofits, civic organizations and businesses thatcame up with an action plan centered on supporting theNew Orleans Police Department andinvesting in youth services.

With the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans approaching, Gov.Jeff Landry asked Hechtto coordinate an all-hands-on-deck effort to completemore than500 backlogged infrastructure projects.

“What Ilovedabout this opportunity is thatit’s complicated. It’sunder deadline. It’simportant And it involves broad stakeholder management, which is something that I’m comfortable with,” Hechtsaid at the time.

“I’vebuilt up areservoir of relationships around the city, region andstate that Ithought that Icould call on.But in terms of just pure feedback andenjoyment,somuch of our work at GNO Inc. playsout over many years, and it’snot always easy to knowwhether you’ve succeeded. When yourjob is to fill in a pothole or put up amuralbyFeb. 9, you’re going to know whether you succeeded.”

He did succeed, so much so thatHelena Moreno promisedinher New Orleans mayoral campaign to adopt his approach to coordination across agencies permanently.Onceelected, she asked Hecht to take part. He said yes.

Most recently, Landry tapped Hecht foryet another assignment, to oversee themultibilliondollar container terminal that thePort of New Orleans is planning to build in St.BernardParishand constructionofa newtollroad.

That’saportfoliothat’sexhausting to read, let alone manage. So we’reglad to hear that Hecht isn’tleaving the arena entirely.Once areplacementishired, he’ll stay on as CEO emeritus and continue to support the organization’sinitiatives.

“His commitment to economic development andprosperity, for all citizens throughoutLouisiana, has inspired an optimistic visionofour collective future,” Kim Boyle, GNOInc.’sboard chair,said last week.

We agree and congratulatehim on ajob well done

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Land bridge conceptwas

proven by I-10 project, in 1967

Mike Smith’sMay 24 article asks whether Louisiana can build a94-mile land bridge. His own comparison answers the question: The distance is “longer than thedriving mileagefrom New Orleans to Baton Rouge.”That is exactly how we built Interstate10. Between August 1967 and July 1968, theLouisiana Department of Highways let four contracts to construct 22 miles of I-10 embankment across the swamps between Sorrentoand LaPlace. Contractors dredged 13.35 million cubic yards of sand from theMississippi River and pumped it through pipelines up to 15 miles to the construction site, using booster-pumpstations at 2- to 3-mile intervals. That was 1967 technology —a30-inch hydraulic dredge recovering 1,000 cubic yards per hour from theriver bottom. Today’scutterhead dredges are larger,more efficient and routinely pumpsediment farther.The land bridge concept uses theidentical method dredge river sediment,transport it by pipeline, build stable embankments

Confederatesoldiersand

at ascale Louisiana contractors demonstrated nearly 60 years ago. The question is not whether it can be done. The question is why it took so long to return to what works. The article quotes Steve Cochran urging thestate to “use the river.” That is precisely what dredge-and-pipeline does: It uses theriver’ssediment, placed where it is needed, without the open-discharge salinity shocks that threatened dolphins, fisheries and drinking water under the canceled diversions Afinal noteonsourcing. Smith’sarticle carries thedisclosure that his work is supported by agrant from the Walton Family Foundation. That same foundation invested tens of millionsofdollars in the organizations that promoted the diversions the land bridge now replaces. Readers should weigh the article’sskepticism accordingly DENNISLAMBERT

formerchair,Waterways Committee, ASCE Coasts, Oceans,Ports &Rivers Institute Lettsworth

thebreakaway states were fighting forslavery,and they knew it

On May 21, you published aletter to theeditor by Toby Russo: “Treat Confederate dead just like other veterans.” This may be one of the most ignorant, factually dishonest screedsever published in your paper

Russo saysnot honoring dead Confederates —who, to be clear,are traitors whotook up arms against the United States —isbeing “ignorant of history,” when they themselves seem to have no working knowledge of it.

Russo wrote “there was no OneNation”in1861.

This will come as ashock to thewriters of the Constitution, which begins “Wethe people of the United States.” Russo then states that “onenation” wasn’tadded to thePledge of Allegiance —which is not alegal document —until 1883, even though Francis Bellamy didn’twrite thepledge until 1892.

Russo then contradicts himself, saying Southernersthought they were “defending themselves from invasion” (also factually wrong) but also that rich slaveowners made them “fight re-

gardlessofhow they felt about awar.” Forgetting that the South startedthe war,claiming soldiersfought only because they were forced to echoes NazisatNurembergwho said theywere “just following orders.”

It’snot “inconceivable”that Southerners fought to preserve slavery Texas,Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and Arkansas all explicitly cite the preservationand expansion of slavery in their articles of secession, which were endorsed by the rest of the Confederate states. Russo’sentirenarrative is built on lies about the“lostcause” and “states’ rights.” Ihave onequestion for people defending this position: the states’ rightstodowhat exactly?

Instead of espousing factually empty nonsense, Isuggest Russo go to a libraryand read firsthand accounts written by Confederates bragging about their slaves thatthey would fight to thedeath to keep.

ALEJANDRODELOS RIOS NewOrleans

City needsatimely responseto nuisance properties

The recentstory about tensions over ablighted Mid-Cityproperty andthe tragic shooting that followedshould concern every New Orleanian. Andit’snot just aboutthe violence. It’s thefact that neighbors hadreportedly been complaining aboutthe property before thesituation reached abreakingpoint. Iunderstand that frustration all too well, as Itoo have found myself in tears, losing sleep over ahopeless, devastating, costlyand unfair situation

For years, my neighbors andI have been reporting ablighted property across from ours that is associated withopendrugactivity, discarded needles, public nudity, threateningbehavior, occupancy concernsand apparenthealth and safety violations.

We’vecalledNOPD.We’ve contacted Code Enforcement. We’ve emailedCityCouncil offices. We’ve attended neighborhood andpolice meetings.We’vedocumented incidents and filedcomplaint after complaint

Yetthe problems have continued —for years. Whatmany peopledon’tunderstandisthe tollthistakes on residents and property owners. The frustration becomes exhaustion The exhaustion becomes hopelessness. Eventually,people beginto feel abandoned by thevery systems that are supposed to help.

To be clear,violenceisnever the answer.But theMid-Cityincident should force us to ask adifficult question:Whathappens when residentsspend years doing everything thecityasks them to do andstill see no meaningful action?

Ipay thousands of dollars in taxes, permitting fees, inspection fees and compliancerequirements. Imaintainmyproperty andfollowthe rules. Yetone neglected property hasmadeitextraordinarily difficult to provide safehousing andprotect thequalityoflife on ourblock The real story isn’tjustwhathappenedinMid-City.

It’s howmanyNew Orleans residentsfeel like they’re oneunanswered complaint away from losing hope that anyone is listening.

NIKI WILSON

NewOrleans

Cassidyhas remedy for medical cost squeeze

No mere election loss can stop Sen

Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, from tryingtocraft policies that improve familyfinances, especiallyrelated to the costs of medical care.

Quin Hillyer

Not that Louisiana GOP voters, intent on exercisingtheir rageful ids, seem to care. But when they refused to reelect Cassidy, they gave him only about six more months to push through good ideas as chairman of the Senate’skey healthcare committee. Nonetheless, he’s trying to make the most of those six months.

In aJune 22 column in theonline publication “State Affairs,”Cassidy continued severalmonths’ worthofattempts to outline what hecalls his MVP Agenda: Money and Value for Patients. His proposals make aton of sense. In floor speeches and other forums, Cassidy has noted that theaverage American household now has more than $10,000intotal credit card debt, and that more than 60% of personal bankruptcies relate in part to healthcare expenses. Full-coverageinsurance plans can be too expensive, though, while out-of-pocket healthexpenses, even for insured people, can be quite burdensome.

The answer,Cassidy says, is to allow or incentivize more people to choose lower-cost and “catastrophic” plans rather than lower-deductible ones —driving down demand costs, and prices, for the whole insurance market —while providing “pre-funded” health savings accounts (HSAs) that could coverfar more of the out-of-pocket costs. Younger people would receive$1,000 annually,and older people up to $1,500, for these accounts, if used in conjunction with low-cost insurance plans. Unused funds each year,ofcourse, would roll over, so by the time young workers really need to dip heavily into the HSAs, the accounts could be rather substantial.

The money for the pre-funded accounts would come from changes to the government’stax subsidyformulas for health-insurance purchases. Those formulas favor high-income earners over middleearners, butCassidy’splan would free up money by equalizingthe

treatmentacross income groups. Other policychanges, morecomplicated but eminently sensible in incentivizing care for lower-income workers, would free up even more money for HSAs.

Meanwhile, Cassidyhas been pushing (andonsome fronts already has helped enact) tools to force more “pricetransparency” frombothmedical providers andinsurance companies. The idea is to give patients accesstoprices before securing services, rather than being surprised by multiple bills afterwards.

Cassidywants to pair up transparency laws with new online applications that will enable patients to seewhich providers are nearby,comparetheir prices, and seevarious indicators of thequality of care from each.

“Takepower from the insurance company, power from the middlemen and giveittothe patients,” Cassidy said in aJune9,15-minute Senate floor speech, then repeated: “Power tothe patients, notprofit for theinsurance companies.”

Cassidy also would trytoreduce health problems from starting in the first place by adding an element helping parents know what ingredients are in the foods they buy,sochildren are better nourishedand avoid chronic disease.

Parts of Cassidy’sMVP approach

dovetail withchanges in law already madebyeither the first or second Trumpadministration, or withwidely supported bipartisan initiatives in the past 10 years. Someofthe food labeling elements track the wiser partsof HealthSecretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’sotherwise dicey agenda. Cassidy’s MVPapproach probably will involve several bills, not just one. Either way,though, this is thesort of creative reform package that actually makes sense, one in which the numbers really do work well with no magic asterisks: In sum, they are actuarily sound.

Andthey are designed, as Cassidy told me this week, toempower middleclass “families across Louisiana (who) are being squeezed by rising healthcare costs.”

The problem Cassidy is addressing is real. As aloser in his reelection primary,Cassidy isn’twasting his time licking his wounds. Instead, he is diligently working to help moreAmerican people afford to get medical help for their own wounds and illnesses. In doing so, he upholds thehighest standards of the proverbial good doctor,seeing to his patients’ needs.

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

SupremeCourt supports religiousfreedom, except when it comesina differentpackage

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled in favor of protecting people who have specific faithand religious practices, arguingthat mainstream religious values andorganizations must be protected, with an expansive view of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

Trump’sbig, beautiful birthday brawl

Were you not entertained by the human cockfight staged on the South Lawnofthe White House recently? Blood and guts were the coin of the realm in Washington’sUltimate Fighting Championship extravaganza held to celebrate President Donald Trump’s80th birthday and, supposedly,the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

Isuspect the nation’sfounders would have been unamused by Trump’sidea of acelebration worthy of the blood sacrificed for the highest prize —freedom.If the term “toxic masculinity” were in search of an illustration, Trumpgleefully provided it.

With fighters, politicians, billionaires, military performers and about 4,000 spectators, the nation’scapital wasfor several hours a250year testosterone-flood event. Even the scantily clad Octagon girls were about to sprout mustaches by the end of the morethan $60 million show Yes, somewomen enjoy the sport, and some are fighters, too, though none competed in this event. Though it’sdifficult to estimate the number of womenwho attended the White House fight fest, somenotables stood out, including first lady Melania Trump; Ivanka Trump, who posted that the evening was “epic,” and, of course, Linda McMahon, whowas chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment before Trumptapped her as education secretary For the uninitiated, the Las Vegas-based UFC is one of the world’slargest mixed martial arts organizations. It hosts combat events forathletes from different fighting styles —boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing —inside a cage called the Octagon. As they say,ittakes all kinds. But on the White House lawn? What should we expect from areality-show president whodemolished part of the White House to makeway foragargantuan, gilded ballroom?Amaster of distraction, Trumpis never at aloss forways to deflect attention from whatever is making headlines to himself Although he may have felt rebuffedbymusicians whocanceled their showsfor the 250th anniversary celebration once they learned about the host organization’sties to the president, the new circumstances gave Trumpan excuse to take the stage himself on July 4and lead what he’snow calling a“rally.”

Will Sutton

From about 1950 until about 1995, Fred M. Vinson (1946-1953),Earl Warren (1953-1969) Warren E. Burger (19691986) and William H. Rehnquist (1986-2005) served as the first among equals on the nation’shighest court. In thattime,the Supreme Court ruled in favor of faith and religious plaintiffs in some cases and not in others. The record shows that they split about 50-50 withtheir decisions on these issues.

In 2005, President GeorgeW.Bush appointed John Roberts as chief justice. Since then, faith andreligious plaintiffs have won the Supreme Court’sfavor 83% to 91% of thetime. That’sahuge increase,and onethat plaintiffs who feel they’vebeen discriminated against based on theirfaith of choice and religious practices were pretty certain that they would get a fair hearing —and likely afavorable result.

I’m sure that’swhat Damon Landor and his attorneys thought whenthey filed Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, alawsuit that argued that Landor’sreligious rights as a

Rastafarian were violated when Louisiana prison guards forcibly cut off his dreadlocks while he was imprisoned. But no. Theconservative majority of six decided that federal laws protectingreligiousrights don’tapply to state officials as individuals and therefore Landor cannot sue theprison guards whoignored afederal law providing him andother prisoners protections based on alegitimate religious practice. Landor showed guards and thewarden proof that his long locks shouldn’tbecut.The paper was tossed in the trash. They handcuffed him and shaved him bald.

I’ve never been in ajail or prison excepttovisit. I’ve been bald since 2018 bychoice.I’m apracticing Christian,and my faith doesn’trequire me to grow my hair andnever cut it. But

Landor’sfaith does require that practice. I’d be appalled if someone had mandated that Igobald and proceeded to shave my head against mywill.

The state and the high court surely must realize that somereligions either strongly encourage or require men to grow beards.

Devout (Amritdhari) Sikhs keep all hair uncut,especially men withbeards. Somewho practice Judaism reference theZohar and the Torah law,either to keep fully-grown beards or totrim beards without arazor.That’s especially true for Hasidic Jews and someOrthodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews. Some Christians, like theAmishand Old Order Mennonites, keep their beards once they are married.

Though theSupremeCourt decision was narrowly tailored, Ican’thelp but thinkthe high court and prison officials too easily dismiss thecomplaints of people like Landor who don’tlook like them —and those who don’thave religious practices they don’tunderstand or care to understand.

Idoubt they would’ve cut the hair of aSikh, aHasidic Jew or an Amish prisoner,people who also don’tlook like them.

Landor’shair should’ve never been cut. The state and prison officials know that. That’swhy they changed the policy to include providing cover for Rastafarianslike Landor

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

At atimewhen toxic masculinity is alegitimate concern —and when boys and men sufferfrom avariety of problemsrelated to education, jobs, relationships, isolation and depression —itisjarring to see the mostextremeexamples of masculinity highlighted by the president, not only as entertainment but, presumably,asrole models. Ihave no reason to think that those men in the cage are anything but good citizens, fathers, sons and brothers, but they don’toffermost of America anything to celebrate. Why not skip the pretense and bring in somelions and giraffes?

I’mtrying to be polite. Really,I am. And please don’tmistake me for an anti-male feminist. Iwrote the book “Save the Males” way back in 2008, outlining the early warning signs of the problemswe’re seeing now.Would Irather watch the cast of “Hamilton” at the White House than men pummeling each other into bloody pulps? Youbet. But there’sachasmic difference between brilliant Broadway performers and hyped-up men kicking and punching forspectacle. Ican’tbear to think what the rest of the world sees when it watches the most powerful country on Earth, the heart of democracy,descend from the hilltop into the primal muck where man-as-beast triumphs over the sublime. (That’smebeing polite.)

The People’sHouse has been so desecrated by this president.

Finally,the fighter whodecided that his victory wasthe perfect timetoinsult former first lady Michelle Obamaunderscored the tasteless theatrics. Real men don’tspeak disrespectfully of others regardless of circumstances, but that ship sailed long ago.

Trump’sbig, beautiful brawl, with all its blood, sweat and smears, wasan“epic” embarrassment. Once again, the president of our United States has shownthe world whohereally is —ashowman with poor taste and worse judgment, whogets his kicks from watching other people get knocked down. Our boys and young men deserve better,and so do our girls and women.

Kathleen Parker is on X, @kathleenparker

Kathleen Parker

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, speaks to supporters during an election night watch party onMay 16.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILE PHOTO

The U.S. Supreme Court

grandmotherand greatgreatgrandmother anda loving sister enteredeter‐nalrestonJune 16, 2026. Shewas 97 yearsold.Ber‐nice,bornonMarch 9, 1929, attended St.Mary’s Academy, B.A. from Do‐minicanCollege andher MastersfromUNO.She wasa retiredSpecial Edu‐cation teacherwith theOr‐leansParishPublicschool system.Extraordinary min‐isterfor St.Raymond/St. LeoChurch.She taught CCDatSt. Raymond’s church.A member of KPC Ladies AuxiliaryCourt 78. Member of theAltar Soci‐ety, therosarygroup,and SmartSet Social andPlea‐sure Club for66years.She lovedtocook,shop, read andtravel. Berniceleaves behind herson Delfeayo FerdinandIII, (Cheryl) ,sis‐terBerthaAnn Fredericks 6granddaughters, 13 great grandkids, 2great great grandkids, 4godkids,a host of nieces and nephewsinCaliforniaand here in NewOrleans,a host of cousinsand friends. Ber‐nice wasprecededin deathbyher loving hus‐band Delfeayo Ferdinand, Jr., sonGlenn Ferdinand, dear greatgrandparents John andBerthaAuld, grandparents Joseph and AliceAubertRobinson,her mother HildaFredericks, stepdadJohnFredericks, father Joseph Francesand siblings AngelFredericks Robinson andJohnFreder‐icks,Jr. Celebrationoflife will be held at St.Ray‐mond/St. LeoChurch on June 27, 2026 at 11:00 am Visitation 9-11 am.Rosary at 10:00. Ladies Auxiliary procession at 10:15.Re‐marks/Tributes at 10:30.In‐termentwillfollowatSt. Patrick'sCemetery#1. Please sign online guest‐book at www.charbonnetf uneralhome.comInlieuof flowers, make adonation to Sistersofthe Holy Fam‐ily. Charbonnet Labat GlapionFuneralDirectors (504) 581-4411

Garnier,Gordon Gordon Garnier, beloved son of Nicki Garnierand Anise WilsonGarnier, passed away on Monday, June 15,2026, at the age of 52

Lefttocherish his memoriesare his devoted parents; Nicki Garnier and Anise Wilson Garnier; his loving aunts, Fidelia Williams,Cordelia Rivarde, Denise Ganier,Jennifer Morris; his uncles, Louis Johnson, Lyle "Casey" Labeaud, Clifford Garnier III; and ahostofcousins, extended family members, dear friends, former coworkers and neighbors.

Gordon will be deeply missed, lovingly remembered, and forever cherished by allthose who were blessed to know him.

Visitation- 8:00 am10:00 am,followed by Funeral Mass -10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 26, 2026, at Corpus Christi-Epiphany Catholic Church, 2022 St Bernard AvenueNew Orleans,Louisiana 70116; Interment: St. Louis Cemetery#3.

In lieu of flowers, please make adonation to the American Cancer Society.

Green,Magnolia Sheppard

Magnolia Sheppard Green of Avondale,La claimedvictory andeter‐nalpeace on Sunday,June 14, 2026, at 8:03 am at West JeffersonHospital. Magno‐liawas born in Bunkie,La to theparents of Oscar& SurfroniaWashington Sheppard.Magnoliawas a devotedwife(called Stanka), mother (called Ma), grandmother(called grandmaand granny)and aunt (calledauntieMac). On July 11, 1962, shewas unitedinholymatrimony with JacksonGreen in Bunkie,La. From their union,fourchildrenwere born.Magnoliaaccepted Christ as herLordand Sav‐ioratanearly agein Bunkie,La. Aftermovingto NewOrleans as an adult, shebecamea member of MorningStarMissionary BaptistChurch.She served under theleadershipof Rev. Dr.LawrenceGaines where shewas amember of theBeautifying Commit‐tee. AfterHurricane Kat‐rina shebecamea member of Mt.HermonBaptist

Church.She worshipedand served under theleader‐shipsofBishopSeanT Elderand Rev. Dr.DaroldA Ingram,Jr. Shewas a proudmemberofthe Dea‐coness Ministry.Proverbs 31: 10-12 “Anexcellent woman[onewho is spiri‐tual,capable,intelligent, andvirtuous],who is he whocan find her? Her valueismoreprecious than jewels andher worth is far aboverubiesor pearls.The heartofher husband trusts in her[with secure confidence],And he will have no lack of gain Shecomforts, encourages anddoeshim only good andnot evil allthe days of herlife.”Magnoliawas a virtuous woman. Shebe‐came a2nd momtoso many andknewhow to be aconfidant.She knew how to hold herown in several situations. Sheknewhow to be strong as nails and soft as cotton. Sheknew howtoadapt. Magnolia wasa prayingwoman.She livedbyPhilippians 4:13 “I candoall things through Christ,who strengthens me…” Sheloved andlived forher family.Whenher husband became illand unable to work,Magnolia found herselfhavingto work andprovide forher family.All while caring for himand herminor chil‐dren,she hadbecomethe breadwinner. Therewas a time shestruggled to make ends meet andbecame weary…butnot forlong. Shedid whatshe hadtodo andworkedtwo jobs while maintainingher home.Can youimagine herstrength anddetermination?She took care of herdaughter Shantell during herbattle with cancer.She wasby Shantell’ssideevery step of theway.She traveled with Shantell back and forth to Houstonfor her cancer treatments at M. D. Anderson hospital.She ex‐haustedher finances to make sure sheand Shantell hadthe wayand themeans to gettoHous‐ton. Shesuffereddeeply whenshe lost herchild to cancer in 2011. Laying in bedatWestJefferson Hos‐pitalshe wastired and ready. However, shemus‐teredupthe strength to give specificinstructions to each of herchildren and grandchild Anthony. Mag‐nolialoved talking. She found peaceand joytalk‐ingwithher brothers &sis‐ters,other family members andfriends near &far Magnolia worked as a Paraprofessional forthe JeffersonParishPublic School System forover30 years. Shewas blessedto be able to retire from the school system priortoHur‐ricane KatrinainMay 2005. Magnolia leaves behindto cherishher life,memories andlegacy3 children: Lorne(Teresa)Green, Stephanie(Eugene Jr.) Brooksand Jacquelyn Howard;one sister Shirley (Andrew) Davis; 3brothers: John B. (Anastasia) Shep‐pard,Don Sheppard and Willie Sheppard;6 sistersin-law:EllaArmstrong,Lu‐cille Armstrong, and JacquelynEby,Bella Green andDiane Green;8 grand‐children:Lorne (Erica) Clofer,Shiquita(Stephen) Mintah,ShernellJefferson, Anthony(Nicole)Green Rochelle Green, Kayla Brooks, Lori (Ryan) Hill and Trey Green;18great grand‐children;one greatgreatgrandchild and4 furgrand‐children:Chloe Marie Howard,Shadow, Ruthie andEsquire Brooksand Du “Poppa”Green;a host of nieces,nephews andother relativesand friends. Mag‐noliaisprecededindeath by herhusband Jackson Green,daughter Shantell Green,parents Oscarand SurfroniaSheppard, sister LouEllaZacharie, 3broth‐ers: OscarJr, Nathan and StevensonSheppard, sonin-law WendellHowardJr, granddaughterLatasha Williams,great-grand daughter LyricClofer, niece Barbra Z. Jonesand long‐time dear friend Beverly Cousin.Relatives and friends, also pastors, offi‐cers andmembers of Mt Herman BaptistChurch LifeCenterCathedral,Beu‐lahLandB.C allneighbor‐ingchurches andformer membersofMorning Star M. B. C. areinvited to at‐tend theHomeGoing Cele‐brationonFriday, June 26, 2026, at Mt.HermanBap‐tist Church,3512 Highway 90, Avondale,La. beginning at 10 am.Church visitation 8:00 am until servicetime ONLY.Rev.Dr. Darold A. In‐gram Jr., pastor,Elder Rene Washington officiating. In‐termentMt. Airy Memorial Park Cemetery.Profes‐sional Services Entrusted to:LittlejohnFuneral Home,2163 AubryStreet CalK.Johnson,FuneralDi‐rector /Manager.Info: 504940-0045.

Heath,Joyce Marie Medley

Joyce Marie Medley Heath, age92, passed peacefully at home of her nephew, Kenneth, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, surrounded by lovedones. Joyce was born in New Orleans on June 1, 1934, to thelateEdwardJ.and Ernestine Reimonenq Medley. She was an alumna of St.Mary's Academy and Straight Business School and had alongcareer as abank telleratthe former Whitney National Bank. In herearlier years, she belongedtoa local bowling league and was a fierce competitor in many tournaments. Later in life, she enjoyed theexcitement of theslotmachines and occasional, modest wins at theGulf Coast casinos. She is survived by nephews and nieces including Lloyd J. Medley, Jr Edward Medley (Kim), June MedleyBravo(Dave), Gary Medley, LesterMedley (Bridgette),Carolyn RandolphHarvey, Diane RandolphNeapolliuoun, KennethCoignet(Belgica), RhondaCoignetToten (Derek), and ahost of greatnieces and nephews. She was precededindeath by her beloved husband, Arthur Heath, and her siblings, Mildred Medley Randolph(Willie); Lloyd J. Medley, Sr.(Yolande), Ralph J. Medley, and Teresa MedleyCoignet (Linus). Friends and relativesare invited to attend aVisitation at 10:00 a.m. and Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 26, 2026, at St. Maria GorettiCatholic Church, 7300 Crowder Blvd.,New Orleans, LA 70127. Interment:St. Roch Cemetery #2, 1725 Music Street,New Orleans, LA 70117. Donations in lieu of flowers may be madeto theAmerican Cancer Societyand theAmerican Diabetes Association. You may signthe guest book on www.gertrudegeddeswi llis.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home, Inc., in charge (504) 522-2525.

Jackson, Fannie MaeSmith

Fannie MaeSmith Jack‐sonentered herHeavenly restingplace on Friday, June 12,2026, at theage of 90. Shewas acaringand devotedmothertoDiedra JacksonWilliams, Ronald (Lisa) Jacksonand thelate Edward JacksonJr. She wasthe proudgrand‐mother to twolovely granddaughters,Na’Arah Jacksonand EdlasiaJack‐sonand onegreat-grand‐son, XamirR.Duncan. She wasalsoanaunt to Mathila (Alton)Prejean of Carencro,La.,Aristide (Clarissa)WilliamsofNew Orleans, La andAndreaM Williams of Atlanta, Ga Shewas preceded in death by herbeloved husband of 58 years, Edward “Red” Jackson, Sr heroldestson Edward Jackson, Jr., her parentsWesleyB.Smith andMarthaMelancon Smith, andher siblings Willie B. Smithand Lucille S. Williams andher godson AaronB.Franklin. Sheis also survived by ahostof nieces,nephews,cousins, otherrelatives,and friends. Fannie leaves be‐hind alegacyoffaith,hos‐pitality,generosity, andun‐wavering love that will continue throughher fam‐ily, friendsand allwho

were blessedtoknowher Relativesand friendsofthe family, also Pastors, Offi‐cers andmembers of Stronger Hope andPente‐cost BaptistChurches Em‐ployees of OrleansParish School Board(R.T. Daneel Elementary School), OchsnerHospitaland CMC Construction Services are invitedtoattend the Homegoing Celebrationon Saturday,June 27, 2026, at Stronger Hope Baptist Church,2401 SouthGalvez Street,New Orleans, LA 70125. Officiating: Rev. Nicholas K. DereounSr. Pastor.The visitation will beginat9:00a.m.followed by thefuneralservice at 10:00 a.m. Intermentwillbe at Providence Memorial Park andMausoleum Arrangements entrustedto TheBoydFamilyFuneral Home,5001 Chef Menteur Highway, NewOrleans,LA. Forguestbook andonline condolences, please visit www.anewtraditionbegins com(504) 282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/FuneralDi‐rectors.

DorisMae Gaines Scrivens passed away on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at theage of 87. DorisMae is survived by hersons: Robert Hardin,Jr. andDon Scrivens,Sr.;grandchil‐dren:Danielle, Donielle, Don, Jr Jessica, Jen’Quil Robert,III, Alanaand Aaron, tengreat grandchil‐dren,sisters,Carolyn Hamilton,Gaynell Gaines andWanda G. Douglas, brothers:Melvin, Reginald, Wardelland Barry Gaines Also survivedbya host of otherrelatives andfriends Preceded in deathbyher husband Robert Hardin Scrivens,Sr.,motherand father Alma Theresaand Edward Gaines,Sr.;broth‐ers: Edward,Jr.,Alfredand Ronald Gaines,motherand father-in-lawCharles and Lucille Scrivens,4 broth‐ers-in-law:Willie, Harry, Leeand Wilbertand three sisters-in-law:Alice,Helen andStella.Familyand friendsare invited to at‐tend theCelebration of Life ServiceonSaturday, June 27, 2026, for10:00 a.m. at TheBoydFamilyFuneral Home,5001 Chef Menteur Hwy.,New Orleans, LA 70126. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. Dr.Kevin Samuels, Sr.officiating. In‐termentwillfollowatMt. Olivet Cemetery,2050 CatonSt.,New Orleans, LA 70122. Guestbook Online: www.anewtraditionbegins com(504) 282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/Funeral Di‐rectors.

Dr. Steve Taylor, adistinguished professorand psychiatrist,passed away peacefully at theage of 87 on June 13, 2026, in the arms of his loving family. Hisjourneywas marked by alifetimededicated to service and education. As ayouth,heexcelled as an EagleScout, life-

guard, andBaptist missionary in Hawaii.Despite battlingchildhood asthma, Steve showcasedhis athleticprowessasthe quarterback for CrowleyHigh's championship football team andasa member of thetrack anddebate teams. After asignificanthead injury during medical school, Steve took adetour to work withthe NFL in NewYork, contributingto theleague'shistory before returningtohis passion for medicine. In recognitionof hisservice,the league honored himwith agold stethoscope.

Steve's education included aBachelorof SciencefromLSU Baton Rouge in 1962, agraduate degree from LSUMedical in 1976, and agroundbreaking residency in Psychiatry by 1979. He further enriched hisexpertise with semestersatYale and achievedBoard Certification in Psychiatry in 1981, alongside certificationsinend-of-life care andmedical acupuncture

Hiscontributions to psychiatry were recognized throughthe Ginsberg Fellowship at TheGroup for theAdvancementof Psychiatry. Steve served as aClinicalAssociate Professor at LSUand Consulting Psychiatrist at SLUCounselingCenter. He wasactive withthe American Psychiatric Association and the Louisiana Psychiatric Association,imparting knowledge through NIH TeachingGrants and courses at LSUand Yale Steve embraced aspiritual journey transitioning from aBaptist upbringing to Catholicism, eventually becoming an Oblate of Saint Benedict. He willbe dearlymissed, leaving a legacyofkindnessand wisdom.

Survivedbyhis wife, Marilyn (Lyn)Taylor,stepson Will Murray (Catherine), step-daughter JaneHillFoster,sister Judy Taylor Cassell,and stepgrandchildrenEmma Jane Foster and Luke Foster. He is reunited with hislate parents, Homer and Ruby Taylor

Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.,followedbya Mass at 2:00 p.m. at St Joseph Abbey Cemetery in Covington,Louisiana. Burial will follow at the same location

Williams, Joshua

Joshua Williams Jr.departedthis life on Friday, June 12, 2026 at the age of 59. Husband of Former Wife JeneenMarie Graves SonofThe lateJoshuaand JewelWilliams. Father of JadaJewlanda Williams, Jasmine Jenee' Williams, Joshua Williams III,and Bonus SonFletcherSaylor III.Brother of Nathaniel Williams, Byron Williams, Jewlanda Fagg, and Darrell Williams. He is also survived by two grandchildren Jaden Darnell Bridges and Apollo Theodore McGaffie, anda host of nieces, nephews, otherrelatives andfriends

Relativesand friends of thefamilyare invited to attend aFuneral Service at Lawless Memorial Chapel, 2601 Gentilly Blvd,New Orleans, LA 70122 on Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation will begin at 8:00 a.m. Interment: RestlawnPark Cemetery,Avondale,LA. Arrangements by D. W. Rhodes funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave.Please visit

Deborah

In August 2024, Myria DeborahWilsonwas diag‐nosedwithStage III Triple Negative Breast Cancer With unimaginablestrength,determination,and grace, shefoughther bat‐tleonher ownterms.On Thursday,June 11, 2026, at theyoung ageof40, God called herhome, andshe peacefully received her wings. Though gonetoo soon,we find comfortin knowingthatshe is no longer in pain andisnow rejoicinginGod's glory with lovedoneswho have gonebeforeher.Myria was preceded in deathbyher maternal grandfather, WoodrowWilsonSr.;her paternal grandparents, DeborahLemmonand Rammey DavisSr.;her pa‐ternal aunt anduncles, MyriaNewton, Debbie Robertson, AlvinNewton, andNormanJames New‐ton; sister-in-law, Ericae Wilson;and beloved nephew,Mason Wilson Sheleavestocherishher precious memory:her par‐ents,Michael (Marilyn) Newton andLinda Wilson; grandmotherMaryE.Wil‐son; beloveddaughter, Princess Demi Gabrielle Green;her furbaby, Jelly‐bean;brothers: Damion Wilson,Myron (Brydrika) Wilson,Michael (Ashley) Shepard, andJodyBias; sisters: Yashika(Jerome) Wilson Smith, Breionna Richard, Mika Byrd,and MakaylaNaqrion.Alsosur‐vivedbya host of nieces nephews, cousins, other relatives, andfriends who will forevertreasureher memory.A Celebrationof Life Servicewillbeheldon Saturday,June 27, 2026. Visitation will beginat9:00 a.m.,followedbythe fu‐neralservice at 10:00 a.m. Location:Apostolic Out‐reachCenter, 8358 Lake Forest Blvd., NewOrleans, Louisiana70126. Officiat‐ing: Pastor RaymondR Watson,Jr. Intermentwill follow at ResthavenCeme‐tery.Guestbook Online: www.anewtraditionbegins com(504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/FuneralDi‐rectors.

Park Memorial Cemetery andMausoleum (504)362-3091

Wilson,Myria

Scrivens,Doris MaeGaines

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SPORTS

LIFE CHANGER

One swing altered Morris’

Editor’s note: This is one among 12 profiles of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Festivities will take place through Saturday in Natchitoches.

BY JOHN MARCASE

Contributing writer

Thirty years after hitting the biggest home run in college baseball history, Warren Morris is still amazed at its impact.

“I had no clue that it was gonna be something where strangers would come up to me all the time and tell me, I remember where I was, I was doing this or, you know, I was at this wedding,” Morris said.

“It’s kind of like a moment in time; people remember where they were.”

The moment was the championship game of the 1996 College World Series. LSU trailed Miami, 8-7, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the tying run on second base. Morris, batting last in the LSU lineup because of a hand injury and subsequent surgery, had not hit a home run that season Until then.

Morris attacked the first pitch from Miami closer Robbie Morrison The line drive just sailed over the right-field wall.

Morris’ life changed with that one swing. But as anyone who has known him before he stepped into the lefthanded batter’s box at Rosenblatt Stadium for the final time on June 8, 1996, will attest, that one swing did not

change him.

“Warren Morris was a great kid before he hit that home run,” said Steve Boniol, Morris’ first baseball coach, “and Warren Morris would’ve been the same had he struck out. He has not changed.”

That is one of the reasons Morris is being recognized as the third recipient of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, established in 2020. The award honors long-term exemplary contributions to the perception of Louisiana by an individual who has ties to the state’s sports landscape.

Morris’ former offseason workout partner called to congratulate him upon

Pierre ended college career at SMU

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

Jaron Pierre is coming back home. Pierre, a graduate of St. Augustine High School, was selected with the No. 58 pick by the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night in the second round of the NBA draft. Pierre, a 6-foot-5 guard, finished his career at SMU. Before that, he had college stops at Southern Miss, Wichita State and Jacksonville State. Pierre averaged 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists during his one year at SMU. He scored a career-best 21.6 points per game the year before at Jacksonville State. The drafting of Pierre came one night after what was a quiet first round for the Pelicans.

The Pelicans didn’t have any firstround picks thanks to last year’s draft night trade when they traded with the Atlanta Hawks to move up from No. 23 to No. 13 to select forward Derik Queen. That move was highly criticized because the Pels gave up this year’s draft pick to get it. That deal ended up giving the Hawks the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft. Atlanta selected guard Kingston Flemings from the University of Houston with the pick Tuesday night. Joe Dumars, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, hinted in April after the Pelicans’ 26-56 finish that trading to get into the first round was a possibility “Unless you’re a championship team, you might tweak one or two things,” Dumars said. “When you’re where we are, you have to be open to everything. And that’s where I am. I am open to whatever comes across my desk. Whatever phone calls I get, I’m open to it to listen and see if this is the right thing for us at this moment. I don’t think you can close off anything where we are right now.”

But nothing happened on Day One. Wednesday was different as the Pelicans hope to hit on a second-round pick for the second year in a row The Pels drafted guard Micah Peavy from Georgetown in the second round last season and he proved to be a solid player. Peavy averaged just 4.3 ppg, but he displayed the strong defensive traits that made the Pels draft him.

Now the Pelicans are hoping to see that same promise from Pierre.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

IRVINE, Calif. Christian Pulisic said he feels

“great” now after missing one World Cup match with a calf injury, and he hopes to play for the U.S. in its final group match against Turkey on Thursday night.

Pulisic played a dynamic first half in the Americans› 4-1 victory over Paraguay to open their home World Cup nearly two weeks ago, but the AC Milan midfielder came off at halftime after an injury from training stiffened up.

Pulisic said he nearly played in the 2-0 victory over Australia

ä United States vs.Turkey, 9 P.M.THURSDAy, FOX

last Friday but was held out to get closer to full fitness for the games ahead. He has returned to practice with his teammates this week after working out on his own last week before the trip to Seattle.

“I›m hoping to play a part in (the match against Turkey), for sure,” Pulisic said before the U.S. training session Wednesday at Great Park “I’ll discuss that with my coaches and the medical staff. Obviously not a good chance I’ll probably go and play 90 (minutes) right away after you come back and miss a game, but we’ll see.”

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

The Mannings know how to take over a room. Eli and Peyton Manning, after all, are two of the most accomplished athletes of their generation and have become just as successful in the entertainment industry, where their “Manning Cast” show has become a Monday night staple during football season. So it was no surprise that the former star quarterbacks stole the show at the Allstate Sugar Bowl awards banquet Wednesday night at the Superdome as the headliners for the New Orleans Hall of Fame Class of 2026. They

6C

See MANNINGS,

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RODNEy WHITE

LSU hitter Warren Morris celebrates as he rounds first base in front of assistant coach Daniel Tomlin after hitting a two-run, walk-off home run to win the national championship against Miami at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., on June 8, 1996.

PROVIDED PHOTO

From left, Peyton Manning, Sugar Bowl president Riley Busenlener, Eli Manning, Bo McCalebb and Jeff Hundley, the Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO, pose after McCalebb and the Manning brothers were inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday during the annual awards banquet.

Southwest Division spotlights frontcourt

Grizzlies, Mavericks and Spurs select 4 prominent prospects in the first round of the NBA draft

BY BRETT MARTELL

AP sportswriter

The Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs brought four prominent frontcourt prospects to the Southwest Division in Tuesday night’s first round of the NBA draft. Memphis took Duke forward Cameron Boozer third overall. Michigan’s Morez Johnson went to Dallas with the ninth overall draft choice. When the defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs picked 20th overall, they added Kentucky forward and center Jayden Quaintance — and then traded for another big man at 26th overall: Tarris Reed of Connecticut.

In Memphis, the 6-foot-9 Boozer will join another top young big man in Zach Edey

“We automatically become one of the best rebounding duos in the league,” Boozer said. “It’s going to be exciting to see what different types of things we can do — really mess up other teams and cause some mismatches for sure.”

The 6-9 Johnson helped Michigan win the second NCAA title in program history this past season, averaging 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds The 6-9 Quaintance averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds for Kentucky during an injury-shortened season after spending his previous college campaign with Arizona State.

Meanwhile, Houston and New Orleans entered the draft without a first rounder and neither succeeded in finding a trade they liked to get back into NBA draft’s opening round.

New Orleans Pelicans

What was the team’s need: The Pelicans could use more outside shooting particularly if they intend to continue to build around power forward Zion Williamson. Trey Murphy III is New Orleans’ lone reliable outside shooting threat, and he’s been mentioned in trade talks so often that it’s not entirely clear how long his tenure with the Pelicans will endure.

Who New Orleans drafted: The Pelicans entered the draft without a first-round choice, having traded it away last year to Atlanta so New Orleans could acquire a sec-

ond 2025 first-rounder that was used to take Derik Queen. Pelicans basketball operations chief Joe Dumars expressed interest in making a trade to get back into the first round this year, but apparently couldn’t find a deal he liked New Orleans wasn’t slated to pick until late in the second round, at 58th overall.

Memphis Grizzlies

What was the team’s need: Pieces for a rebuild Memphis started the process last summer, and these are the latest steps.

Who did Memphis draft: Cameron Boozer, 6-foot-9 power forward from Duke with the No. 3 pick. Two trades dropped the Grizzlies from No. 16 to No. 17 to 21, picking up five second-round picks in the process, a person familiar with the moves told The Associated Press. At No. 21 from Detroit, Memphis selected Karim Lopez, a 19-year-old forward from Mexico, who played for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL.

The picks’ NBA comparison: Boozer compares to Al Horford, Paolo Banchero and Kevin Love. As for Lopez, the comparisons stretch from Kyle Kuzma to Deni Avdija.

Dallas Mavericks

What was the team’s need: The Mavericks might spend a long time looking for their next star point guard after the ill-fated Luka Doncic trade.

Who did Dallas draft: Michigan F/C Morez Johnson Jr at No. 9 and G Sergio De Larrea of Spain at No. 25 in a trade with the Knicks.

The pick’s NBA comparison: At 6-9 with a defensive pedigree, Johnson fits the profile of a young Bam Adebayo. Johnson is considered limited offensively with the potential to grow Adebayo wasn’t a double-figure scorer until his third season. De Larrea, who fits the mold of a point guard, turned down U.S. college offers to follow the same path as Doncic in the EuroLeague. That comparison is farcical for now

San Antonio Spurs

What was the team’s need: Losing 4-1 to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals exposed the Spurs’ need for another big man to play alongside and spell Victor Wembanyama. The French All-Star averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 2.6 assists while playing a series-high 39.7 minutes.

Who the Spurs drafted: Jayden Quaintance, a 6-9, 253-pound forward from Kentucky and Tarris Reed, a 6-11 center from Connecticut. Quaintance’s career started at Arizona State, but his freshman season ended when he suffered a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and fracture to his right knee on Feb. 23, 2025. He played four games for Kentucky before knee pain and swelling forced him to end his season. Reed, picked 26th overall and acquired from Denver in a draft night trade, spent his first two seasons at Michigan before closing his career at UConn. Reed averaged 9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during his fouryear career Both Quaintance and Reed are rim protectors and defensive-minded players who rely on their strength.

The pick’s NBA comparison: Quaintance has been compared defensively to Portland’s Robert Williams III and Houston’s Clint Capela and offensively to Detroit’s Jalen Duren for his play around the rim. Reed has been compared to Joakim Noah and Andrew Bogut for his back-to-the-basket approach to offense.

Houston Rockets

What was the team’s need: Houston could use help with perimeter shooting, having ranked near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point shooting. But the Rockets also could use help in the front court, given the recent injury struggles of Capela and Steven Adams. Depth at point guard also would come in handy for a team that seemed to struggle to produce when starter Fred VanVleet wasn’t on the court.

Who Houston drafted: The Rockets aren’t scheduled to pick until 39th and 53rd overall in the second round, having traded away their 2026 first-rounder back in 2019 and part of a trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston that year

NBA draft showcases Graham’s vision for the Bulls

BY JAY COHEN AP sportswriter

CHICAGO — Bryson Graham took over the Chicago Bulls when he was hired as executive vice president of basketball operations in May At his introductory news conference, he referenced the acronym SLAP size, length, athleticism, physicality

That vision is beginning to come into focus.

Chicago selected Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain in the first round of Graham’s first draft with his new team on Tuesday night. It was part of a busy stretch for the Bulls, who reportedly acquired Nic Claxton as part of a three-team trade on Monday night Tiago Splitter was hired as coach last week.

The 6-foot-9 Wilson and 6-7 Swain are known for their athleticism and finishing ability, and the 6-11 Claxton shot 57% from the field while averaging 11.7 points for Brooklyn last season. The three additions — along with Splitter’s arrival — provide the strongest indication yet of how the Bulls might look under Graham.

“We’re definitely not where we want to be, but we’re establishing an identity,” Graham said. “I think that’s really important for this organization, especially where we’re at right now Both Caleb and Dailyn, they fit the bill. We’re not addressing every skill yet. A lot of people might (ask), ‘Where is the shooting at?’ and things of that nature. I’m not typically worried about that right now.”

Wilson made just seven 3-pointers in his only season at North Carolina, and Swain shot 37% (26 for 71) from deep during his junior year at Texas. But Graham said he thinks both players can improve their shooting skills. What Wilson and Swain bring right now is defensive versatility an important upgrade for Chicago after it allowed 121.5 points per game last season, ranking 28th overall in the NBA. The rebuilding Bulls also have two more picks in the second round of the draft on Wednesday night.

“The fastest way to find playing time and opportunity is on the defensive side of the ball,” Graham said. “So as Dailyn comes in and as Caleb comes in, I’m looking for them to be tone-setters on that side of the floor and be pillars for this organization going forward. Wilson, quite possibly the most athletic player in the draft, was the No. 4 pick after he averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in 24 games with the Tar Heels. His season was cut short by left hand and right thumb injuries, but he said he feels great right now.

Ex-LSU coach Kelly to call football games for CBS

Brian Kelly, the former LSU football coach fired in November, has landed a new job as CBS college football color commentator Kelly is expected to be a part of a three-man booth and call Mountain West games on the network this fall.

Kelly did in-studio work with CBS for the NFL draft.

LSU announced it “separated” from Kelly in October after the Tigers started 5-3 in 2025 The separation, however, was found to be without cause, so the two sides agreed to a $54 million buyout, and Kelly was officially fired in November, the same month the program hired his successor, Lane Kiffin. Kelly, 64, previously said he wanted to work in a role around football to keep his opportunity to coach again open.

LSU gymnast Chio wins program’s 5th Corbett Award

LSU gymnastics star Kailin Chio has been named the recipient of the 2026 James J. Corbett Award, presented annually by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top female amateur athlete in the state.

Chio becomes the latest LSU gymnast to earn the prestigious distinction. She is the fifth LSU gymnast to be recognized with the Corbett Award, joining Haleigh Bryant (2024), Sarah Finnegan (2019), Ashleigh Gnat (2017) and Susan Jackson (2010).

The sophomore from Henderson, Nevada, earned eight All-America honors and helped lead the Tigers to an national runner-up finish in 2026.

Her 13 perfect 10 scores set a new LSU single-season record and marked the second-most perfect scores by a NCAA gymnast in a season since 2019.

LSU baseball LHP signee will reopen recruitment

LSU signee and left-handed pitcher Colton Christman has decided to decommit from the program and reopen his recruitment, he announced on social media Wednesday Christman attended Arbor View High in Las Vegas and played some outfield in high school. Without Christman, LSU’s incoming class shrinks from 24 to 23 players.

LSU has a strong crop of lefthanded pitchers in its incoming recruiting class. Even without Christman, the Tigers have signed five lefties, including Logan Schmidt, who could be selected in the first round of the MLB draft next month. Schmidt, Lucas Nawrocki, Spencer Evans, Braxton Beaty and Bradyn Cupit are LSU’s remaining freshman left-handed pitchers.

Lakers to re-sign guard Reaves to 4-year deal

“My fit on the team is going to be, I’m just going to go hard, man, honestly,” said Wilson, who turns 20 on July 18. “I’m going to make it happen. Whatever they need me to do, I going to do it and more.”

Swain, taken at No. 15, played for Xavier for two seasons before transferring to Texas. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season with the Longhorns. He also led the team with 59 steals.

Swain prides himself in being what he called “a connective player.” Asked what that means from a defensive perspective, he focused on being able to disrupt the opposing offense.

“You know, get them out of rhythm, read plays before they happen,” Swain said, “get in the passing lanes and, you know maybe help out a teammate. Just anything to help out on defense.” Chicago finished with a 31-51 record last season while missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year Graham has described the Bulls as being “at the ground floor,” so the development of Wilson and Swain will be a major factor in the direction and timeline for the team’s future

Swain, for one, seemed excited about beginning his NBA career alongside Wilson.

“He is an electric player Every time you watch him, he has a highlight,” said Swain, who turns 21 on July 15 “I’ve just seen like a five-minute video of all his dunks from this season. It was the longest thing I’ve watched. I think we’re going to be great together.”

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Austin Reaves is re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year contract worth $185 million, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official for Reaves, who cements his status as one of the most successful undrafted players in recent NBA history with this contract. Reaves is declining his $14.9 million player option for the upcoming season to reach this deal with the team that signed him out of Oklahoma after the draft in 2021

The 28-year-old Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds last season despite missing two significant chunks of the year with injuries.

Cubs add pitchers Brown, Cabrera to injured list

NEW YORK Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera were placed on the injured list Wednesday, delivering two more blows for the pitching-depleted Chicago Cubs. Cabrera was expected to get imaging Wednesday after straining his left hamstring/adductor stretching for a throw at first base Tuesday during a 9-6 win over the New York Mets. Brown has a neck strain. He is 4-2 with one save and a 1.85 ERA for the Cubs, including 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA in

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA

Cameron Boozer right, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday in New york.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA

Dailyn Swain, right, celebrates after being selected by the Chicago Bulls as the 15th pick in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday in New york

Principalhelpedput Strother on legendarypath

Editor’snote: This is one among 12 profiles of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Festivities will take place through Saturday in Natchitoches

BY RAYMOND PARTSCH III

Contributing writer

If not for adetermined crop-dusting principal, Dewain Strother likely would have spent decades working in lumber mills instead of becoming one of the winningest girls highschoolbasketball coaches in the country

Despite being an all-district guard at Plainview High Schooland helpingthe Hornets claimthe statechampionshipin1965, Strother had no intentions of going to college. Raised in theRapides Par-

ish woods westofGlenmora, Strother firmly believed he wasdone with schooling upon graduation.

“I had been in schoolfor 12 years,” Strother said. “That was long enough.”

Thankfully,Plainview principal Mike Irving hadother plans.

During his senior year, Strother wanted to take shop class, butthe school had him in English 4. So Irving made himadeal. He could take shop class, but if he messed up, then back to English he wouldgo.

“I leftschool without permission oneday,” Strother said. “I think they were watching me under amagnifying glass. Iwas putback in that English class. (Irving) then helpedregistermefor Northwestern State, flew me

up thereinhis little fourseat Cessnaplane to take a test, and that is how Igot up there.”

That would set into motion astoried career,asStrother wouldlead Florien High School to six state championships, five runnerup finishes and 21 semifinal appearances. His 1,235 victories are the most by any girls basketball coach in state history,and the second-most in the nation.

“Itain’t about me,”Strother said. “It’s about thosegirls on the floor.They put the work in. They bought into what they needed to do.All theplayers whohave gone

homer

MORRIS

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hearing the news.

“I told him that in away, that’seven better than what Igot, because they put me in on what Idid on the field,” said Russ Springer,who was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Famein2018 after 18 years in the majors after astellar career at LSU, “but they thoughthewas a good enough person and all the things he did outside of the fieldthat youdeserve this award.” How Morris ended up as amember of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame would be astorybooktale, onlyif he hadn’talready been the subject of an SEC Network documentary,“The Walk Off.” To adequately comprehend how Morris got to this point in hislife would need aseries, not just aone-hour production.

“If you would have told the 9-, 10-year-old me, go ahead and just dream big,” Morris said, “I would have sold myselfway short. All of this is just way beyond anything that Ithought Iwas even capable of doing.”

The9-year-oldMorris would’ve told youhewas gonna be abasketball player After all, that was hisfavorite sport, and his dad, Bill, was the high school coach at Bolton High School in Alexandria.Thatwas when fate intervened for the first time Steve Boniol’sson, Scott, and Warren were best friends. Scott’sDixie Youth Baseball team, coached by Steve, needed an extra player.Steve had to talk Bill and Barbara Morris into letting Warren play baseball. Steve and Scott Boniol took Warren to his first practice, but first, they had to stopat

Steve’sstore, Cenla Sports, to get Warren aglove.

“The first practice, I threw batting practiceand he would miss every time,” Boniol said. “I told my assistant, Billy Moore,toteach Warren howto bunt.Warren had awork ethic, and he wasn’tgoingtosettlefor not beingable to hit. By the end of the season, Warren led the team in hits.”

Thevaledictorian of his graduatingclass, andan all-state infielder,Morris woundupaccepting awalkon invitation to join the LSU baseball program, then promptly redshirted during hisfreshman year

The following season, Morris started 63 of 66 gamesas an outfielder.The nextseason,hetook over at second base and earned secondteam All-American honors. Heading into his fourthyear of collegeand third as an everyday player,Morris was a preseason All-American Then, fateintervened again

His right hand feltuncomfortable duringthe fall of 1995, and it never improved as the 1996season began. Eventually it was discovered Morris hadfractured thehamate bone and would need surgery.Itforced himtomiss39games,and it caused many frustrating moments. Yet, it may have been the best thingthat ever happened to him.

“I mean, obviously,atthe time, Iwasn’tenjoying it, but lookingback,it kind of goes back to God’s got aplan,” Morris said. “You don’tunderstand it, but it turned out better in two ways.”

Thefirst was Morris surrendered to God’swill. If he could return to baseball he would. Ifhis career was finished, he was content to graduate and move on with hislife’scalling

through my program aresuccessful. Nurses,policeofficers, teachers.I am amazed. Iamjustamazed. They are successful in society.”

Like many young boys in rural Rapides Parish during the1950s and60s,Strother fellinlove with basketball.

“I always loved the game of basketball,” Strothersaid. “At home,whenwefinished ourchores, Iwould go outsideand play basketballuntil mama hollered aboutsupper.”

Hison-courtcareer came to aclose upon graduationin 1968, but thankstohis principal,hewould return to the hardwood in adifferent capacity

Aftergraduating with his bachelor’sdegree in 1974, Strother was hired as an elementaryphysical ed teacher

at Florien, located roughly 40 miles southwest of Natchitoches. He would keep books forthe boys team before being asked to begin thegirls basketball programinthe early 1980s.

It didn’ttakelongfor Strother to mold the Black Cats into oneofthe state’s bestprograms. In his second season, theteam won thedistrictchampionship. Then in 1986,theyadvancedtothe semifinals, losing to Starks. Then camea state runnerup finish in 1987 to Starks The seeds had been planted for one of the greatest runs in girls basketball history in Louisiana.

Florien claimed its first state championship under Strother in 1989 by rolling Chatham In 1990-91, Florien went

48-0, defeated Holden forthe state crownand was ranked No.13inthe nation —the perfect season Florien would repeat in 1992 by beatingPitkin forthe state title, then win the title again in 1993 over Zwolle, and defeat Doyle forthe crown in 1994. In six years, Florienwent to six consecutive titlegames, hoistingthe title trophy five times.

“It wasamazing,” said Strother’sdaughter, Jessica Caroline,who played for her dad. “Florien,itwas on the map. Everybody knew about Florien. Everybody knew Dad. Everybody still knows Dad. They will say,‘He is so amazing, andIwish we hada coach likehim.’ “

Strother retired after the 2022-23 season

beat Miami in

The secondpart paid dividends on thefield. The injury andpost-surgery recoverychanged Morris’ swing. He went from aplayer who threw right-handed and was acontactleft-handedhitter, to ahitter whocould really start drivingthe ball when he madecontact.

Morris returnedtothe LSU startinglineuponMay 16, hitting ninth.

Hadhenever been injured, he would nothave beeninpositiontohit his walk-off homer in Omaha As it turnedout, LSU won all 22 games he started that season.

Had he never been injured, Morrislikelywould nothave been thebestplayer on the 1996 U.S. Olympic baseball team that won bronze. He led theteam in average (.409) to go with five homers, 11 RBIsand 10 runs scored in nine games.

Hadhenever been injured, Morris admits, he may never have madethe major leagues, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1999 when he hit 15 homeruns.

Morrisretired from baseball in 2006. He and his wife, Julie,settled in Alexandria to raise theirthreedaughters. Morris eventually took ajob working for Red River Bank.

He took another jobinan unofficial capacity—perhaps thebestambassador LSUbaseball could ask for

“He provided the greatest moment in the history of the College World Series 30 years ago, andhesince hasembodiedthe values of adevoted husband, father andcommunity leader,” said Bill Franques,the LSU baseball communications director since 1989. “LSU is very grateful forthe lifetime impact Warren Morris has madeupon our state.”

TheAssociated Press

CROMWELL, Conn. Twodays of rain gave way to aclearing sky Wednesdayatthe TravelersChampionship,a reminder that his week could be asoftre-entryintothe post-U.S. Open world.

Scottie Scheffler says that doesn’t make it any easier, just different Scheffler,who won this signature eventtwo years ago, joins U.S. Open champion WyndhamClark, runner-up SamBurnsand most of the best players on the PGA Tour at rain-softenedTPC River Highlands, acourse that tends to producebirdies even without rain.

“I really do enjoy kind of hardertests andsometimes the battle is funaswell,” Schefflersaid. “This golf course Ithink is interesting in asense of youhit some different clubs offthe tee, there’ssome strategy involved, but yougot to show up andmakebirdies.

“When you look at the closingstretch on this golf course,especially if you’re in contentiononSunday, you’re not going to be able to just limp in,” he said. “You got to go out there and you got to make birdies andhit some really,really great shots in ordertowin this tournament.”

That’swhat Keegan Bradleydid last year whenherallied over theclosingstretch to overcome Tommy Fleetwood—a two-shotswing on the final hole —towin the Travelers. It wasavictory thatput Bradley squarelyin the conversationofwhether the Ryder Cup captain should pickhimself. Ultimately,he didn’t.

Fleetwood wascrushed making bogey on the final hole as Bradleymadebirdie, particularlybecause he had yettowin on U.S. soil. He took care of that in much more granderstyle two

months later by winning the Tour Championship for the FedEx Cup.

“Asdisappointed and gutted as Iwas Ifelt like Igot a lot of support from it,” Fleetwood said of the runner-up finish last year.“I’ve seen Rory (McIlroy) talk about it before, like you go through those upsets and you wait for the next day and you realizemaybe it’snot as bad as youthink andyou have to get back to worknomatter what.”

McIlroy headed back home to London instead of playing the Travelers, the third time this year he has chosen not to play a$20 million signature event.

That’s not arequirement, and it won’tbein2028 when the PGATourembarks on a bold, new competition model that essentially divides the tourintotwo circuits —the Championship Series of some 24 events (including majors) and $20million purses, and the ChallengerSeriesfor players to try to earn their way into the top tier

Keytothe change is the ChampionshipSerieswill be 120 players on average, instead of 72 playersthat now compete at the Travelers Championship and other signature events. That appeals to Scheffler as much as

anything else.

“I thinkwhatpeople want is to getthe best players playingtogether more often, Schefflersaid.“I’m notsure if the smaller fields werea huge fan favorite, so getting fields back to 120-man fields, getting acut back, Ithink it’s agood change.”

Eight of his 20 titles on the PGATour have hadsmaller fields, including the 64-man MatchPlayChampionship he won in 2024 when he first rose to No. 1inthe world. That includesapair of postseason events, and five signature events.

“I think whenyou look at larger fields it will be much hardertowin tournaments,” Scheffler said. “Itwill be different than theold days on tour whereyou could win atournament wherethere wasn’tmany of the top players playing.”

Scheffler said winning any of the tournaments on the Championship Series in 2020 will be significant.

Scheffler is the only player to go from amajor title to a signatureevent victoryin consecutive weeks,in2024 at the Masters and RBC Heritage. That task now falls to Clark,who is comingdown from the high of winning hissecondU.S. Opentitle at Shinnecock Hills last week.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

LSU hitter Warren Morris celebrates after hitting agame-winning

to

the 1996 CollegeWorld Series championship game in Omaha, Neb

Strother

WORLDCUP 2026

TODAY’SGAMES ECUADOR vs. GERMANY 3p.m., Fox, Peacock | CURACO vs. IVORYCOAST 3p.m., FS1, Peacock | JAPANvs.

| TUNISIA vs. NETHERLANDS 6p.m., FS1, Peacock

Switzerland, Brazil clinch groups

Swisstopples Canada; Braziliansblank Scotland

By The Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia— Rubén Vargas and Johan Manzambi both scored to give Switzerlanda2-1 victory over Canada on Wednesday at the World Cup as both teams advanced to theknockout round.

Promise David scored alategoal for Canada, which tooksecond place in Group Bbehind the Swiss and earned aspot in the knockout round for the first time in its history Switzerland will face athirdplace team on July 2inVancouverinthe roundof32. Canada needed awin or adraw to finish at the top of the group andstay on home soil, but instead will travel to Inglewood, California, forits next game on Sunday against the second-placefinisher in Group A.

After Manzambi came off the bench and scored two goals in Switzerland’s4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday he earned aspot in the starting lineup against Canada.The-20year-old midfielder became the youngest player to scoretwo goals off the bench in the World Cup and is among the breakout young stars at thetournament. Vargas broke through for Switzerland about 40 secondsinto the second half with astrikethat sailed past sliding Canadagoalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, hit the post and went into the net Breel Embolo then crossed the

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByDARRyLDyCK

Remo Freuler of Switzerland plays theball in front of Stephen Eustaquio of CanadaduringtheirWorld Cup Group BmatchonWednesdayinVancouver,British Columbia. Switzerland won2-1

ball to Manzambi, whose shot went through the hands of Crépeau to putthe Swissup 2-0 in the 57th minute Canadapulledagoal back in the 76th. David scored withavolley on hisfirst touch of the gameabout a minute after he came on as asubstitute. Switzerland captainGranit Xhaka had achance in thescoreless first halfbut hisfreekickin the 37th minute andsailed over the netashelet outa yell. Ali Ahmed hadone of Canada’s

best attempts of thefirst half in the42nd minute, but his shot to the near post was smothered by Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. BRAZIL 3, SCOTLAND 0: In Miami Gardens,Florida, Vinícius Júnior scored twogoals,Matheus Cunha also scored and five-time World Cup champion Brazilbeat Scotland to win GroupCand advance tothe knockout round. Vinícius —who has agoal in all three of Brazil’sgroupmatches —scored in the seventh minute and again just before halftime,

Turkey coachMontellasayshe won’tresignafter winlessstart

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

INGLEWOOD,Calif. Turkey coach

Vincenzo Montella said he does not plan to resign with his team already eliminated from championship contention at the World Cup aftertwo scoreless defeats.

Montella also fought back against what he considers to be excessivecriticism of his team, received both online and in person, during apassionate news conference on Wednesday.Turkey finishes its World Cup againstthe unbeaten co-host U.S. on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

“Will Iresign? The answer is no,” Montella saidthrough an interpreter.“BecauseIstill have energy.Istill have enthusiasm. Ialso feel stronger after this experience Maybe if there is somebody who

wants me to resign, well, maybe they will have to accept Iwill not.”

TheItalian coach, who ledTurkeyback to the World Cup after a 24-year absence as the peak of his largely successful tenure, pleaded with histeam’sfans and media to be civil and even supportive after theirWorldCup was scuttled by a 2-0 loss to Australia and a1-0 loss to Paraguay.Turkey dominated both games by manystatistical measures, but couldn’tfind theopposing net.

Montella is aware of themassive disappointment in aTurkish team that was apopular pick to have significant success at this World Cup, andhedoesn’t wantthis setback to affect his young players’ attitudes or their confidence in the future of Turkish soccer

“These are the same boys, the same players who are heretoday and who maybe will be here in the future, so Ireally ask you to respect them,” Montella said. “Because they are our boys,they are our players,and Ihaveseen per-

sonal attacks that Icannot accept, because thisissomething youare doing againstyourown son,and this Icannot accept.”

The Turkish team was subjected to profane heckling fromahandful of angry fans when it arrived by bus at the team hotel in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Afan yelled in English: “Montella go home!”atthe coach, whoisnot fluentinTurkish, and calledout footballfederation president Ibrahim Hacisomanoglu beforeattempting to personally provoke captainHakan Calhanoglu.

“I was not expecting congratulations allthe time,but Iwas not expecting this kind of communication,” Montella said. “Wehave people that have been (supportively) following us by car from the stadium to the airport to hotels. We had a(heckling) group of three, four people probably,and now thinking that this is how the whole country feels, well, this is negative. This is not positive for the system, becausewehad 50 more (fans)who were supportive.”

Ecuadorfaces must-win vs.Germany

BY JOHN MARSHALL AP sportswriter

Ecuador arrived at the World Cup on a19-game winning streak They could face an early exit if they can’t find away to beat Germany in East Rutherford, New Jersey

Ecuador opened the World Cup witha 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast on Amad Diallo’sgoal in the 90th minute and playedtoascoreless draw against Curacao, the smallestnation in the World Cup.

That leaves Ecuador trailing both Germany and IvoryCoastin

Group Ewith one point and needing to beat the Germans, who have already clinched the group but will be without defender Nico Schlotterbeckfor the rest of theWorld Cup because of an ankle injury.

IvoryCoast nearsknockoutstage

Ivory Coast has achance to make history in its fourth World Cup.

With awin already under their belt, the Elephants can clinch a

spot in the knockout round for the first time with awin over Curacao in Philadelphia.

Ivory Coast pulled off a1-0 win over Ecuador and had ahalftime lead over Germany beforelosing 2-1. IvoryCoast’spreviousbest chance to reach the knockout stage came in Brazil in 2014 when they opened with awin over Japan before losingthe nexttwo games.

Curacao still hasanoutside shot of reaching the knockoutround, needing awin and some goaldifferential help fromEcuador Curacao has agoal differentialof minus-6,thankstoanopening 7-1 loss to Germany.

GroupFwinnerstill up in theair

The Netherlands and Japan will be playing for thetop spotin

Group FonThursday night— the Dutch play Tunisia, the Japanese face Sweden —but both teams have saidtheywant no updates on

each other as their games are progressing.

“You have to focus on making sure youwin the match,” said Netherlands coach RonaldKoeman, whose team has arecord World Cup unbeaten streak of 14 matches excluding penaltyshootouts. “Wewould love to be firstin thegroupand of course the result will haveanimpact on that, but that’snot the most important thing. Playing this game is the mostimportant thing.”

The Netherlands and Japan both have fourpoints anda plusfour goal differential. Sweden is at three points with its 5-1loss to Dutch.

To finish first in thegroup, Swedenhas to win andhavethe Netherlands do no better than adraw

“It’sliterally my first rodeo in terms of aWorldCup so it’sgoing to be newtome,” Sweden coach Graham Potter said.

“But yeah, it’s best for us to try to get thepositive resultsand focus on that.”

tying Kylian Mbappé of France with four goals,one behind Lionel Messi’stournament-leading five Neymar entered as asubstitute in the 76th, making his debut after aright calf injury sidelined him forBrazil’sfirst two matches

The majority-Brazilian crowdat Hard Rock Stadium began chanting his name midway through the second halfashegot off the bench andbegan doing warmup sprints on the sideline —and fans roared as he trotted onto the pitch. Neymar is Brazil’scareer scor-

GROUPA GPWDLGFGAPts Mexico 22 00 30 6 South Korea2 10 12 23 Czechia2 01 12 31 South Africa 20 11 13 1 Thursday, June 11 Mexico 2, South Africa0 Friday, June12 South Korea2,Czechia 1 Thursday, June 18 Czechia 1, South Africa1 Friday, June19 Mexico 1, South Korea0 Wednesday Czechia vs.Mexico,n South Africavs. South Korea, n GROUPB GPWDLGFGAPts Canada 21 10 71 4 Switzerland 21 10 52 4 Bosnia-Herzego. 20 11 25 1 Qatar 20 11 17 1 Friday, June12 Canada1,Bosnia-Herzegovina1 Saturday, June 13 Qatar 1, Switzerland 1 Thursday, June 18 Switzerland 4, Bosnia-Herzegovina1 Canada6,Qatar 0 Wednesday Switzerland 2, Canada 1 Bosnia-Herzegovina3,Qatar 1 GROUPC

GPWDLGFGAPts Brazil 32 10 71 7 Morocco 32 10 63 7 Scotland 21 01 11 3 Haiti 20 02 04 0 Saturday, June 13 Brazil 1, Morocco 1 Sunday, June 14 Haiti 0, Scotland 1 Friday, June19 Scotland 0, Morocco 1 Saturday Brazil 3, Haiti 0 Wednesday Brazil 3, Scotland 0 Morocco 4, Haiti 2 GROUPD GPWDLGFGAPts United States2200616 Australia 21 01 22 3 Paraguay2 10 12 43 Turkey 20 02 03 0 Saturday, June 13 United States4,Paraguay1 Sunday, June 14 Australia 2, Turkey 0 Friday, June19 United States2,Australia 0 Saturday, June 20 Turkey 0, Paraguay1 Thursday Turkey vs.UnitedStates,9p.m. Paraguayvs.

ing leader with79goalsin130 international appearances.The 34-year-oldforward appeared in eachofthe past threeWorld Cups forBrazil, scoring eight goals. Scotland is playing in its first WorldCup since1998 andhas become one of the more interesting teamsofthe tournament. Its dedicated fans, known as the Tartan Army,brought apartyatmosphere to the Boston and Miami areas ahead of their team’s matches. Scotland hasn’tadvancedpast the group stage in nine tries.

BOSNIA 3, QATAR1: In Seattle, Bosnia-Herzegovina eliminated Qatar and boosted its chances of advancing at the World Cupwith avictory With thewin, thethird-place finishing Bosnia-Herzegovina is morethan likely to advance to the Round of 32 in the expanded field. The eight best third-place finishers across the 12 groups advance. Should Bosnia-Herzegovina advancetothe knockoutround, it would mark thefirsttime in national team historyatthe World Cup.

MOROCCO 4, HAITI2: In Atlanta, Soufiane Rahimiand GessimeYassine came off the bench to help Morocco rally past Haiti and erase the Caribbeannation’shopes of afirst point at the World Cup. Morocco twice came from behind against ateam playing at soccer’sbiggest tournament for the first timein52years. Rahimi’sdeflectedshot in the 78th minute put Morocco ahead 3-2 and Yassine killed offany chance of an upset with agoal in the 89th. Morocco advanced to the round of 32 in second place behind Brazil in Group C.

SWEDEN 6p.m., Fox, Peacock

| PARAGUAY vs.AUSTRALIA 9p.m., FS1, Peacock | TURKEY vs. USA 9p.m. Fox, Peacock

Montella

Women’s World Cup countdown begins a year out

BY ANNE M. PETERSON AP soccer writer

While most of the soccer world is focused on the men at the World Cup, the countdown has begun for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The women’s tournament is set to start June 24, 2027, hosted by a South American country for the first time. Brazil hosted the men’s World Cup in 1950 and 2014.

“I think that the host country, it sleeps and breathes football. So, I think just the energy you’re going to see from the public, the general public, and obviously the teams touching down in Brazil, I mean, it’s such a unique, special country,” FIFA chief football officer Jill Ellis said at an event Wednesday in Miami. “I think the same energy you’re going to feel right now when you bring the world together, and you have an incredible product in women’s football, I mean, the level of quality the players is so extraordinary that I think, honestly, it will be an epic showcase of football and fandom.” In addition to Miami, a countdown event was also held in Rio de Janeiro. Even in Vancouver, British Columbia, at Wednesday’s World Cup match between Switzerland and co-host Canada, video signage flashed with ads for the upcoming women’s tournament.

MANNINGS

Continued from page 1C

entertained the standingroom-only crowd with memories of their combined four Super Bowl championships and nostalgic stories of their playing days at Isidore Newman School.

“It’s a great honor,” Eli Manning said of his Hall of Fame induction. “I love New Orleans. When we came to play the Saints, I’m such a loyal person that I let the Saints beat me every time I played here.”

The Mannings’ free-wheeling conversations with older brother and roundtable em-

six-time FIFA world player of the year, will be on the national team. The 40-yearold Marta never has won a major international tournament.

Thirteen other teams also have qualified, including Australia, Philippines, Japan, North Korea, China, South Korea, Argentina, Colombia, New Zealand, Germany France, Spain and Denmark.

“There is only one year left until the moment that will be marked in the history of our country. For the CBF (Brazilian soccer confederation) and for all Brazilians, it is a source of great pride to host the Women’s World Cup,” federation president Samir Xaud said in a statement.

“It will be an opportunity to show the world our passion for football and, above all, the strength of Brazilian women’s football. We are certain that this will be a transformative World Cup, capable of inspiring girls in all regions of Brazil and leaving a lasting legacy.”

hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Women’s soccer has experienced exponential growth in the past decade, with new leagues, and increasing viewership and revenue. The Women’s World Cup in Brazil will be the last with 32 teams. In 2031 the event will include 48 teams, like the men’s tournament started this year The 2031 World Cup is expected to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. The formal decision will likely be announced in November

cee Cooper punctuated the awards ceremony, conducted annually by the Sugar Bowl to recognize and honor the top athletes and teams in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. The brothers delighted the crowd with their humility and trademark deadpan humor When asked by Cooper about the many records he set during his Hall of Fame career with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, Peyton quipped: “I threw 28 interceptions, which is still an NFL all-time rookie record that I hold today It›s actually very hard to do. I had to be a 16-game starter to break it. Eli would have broken it for sure, but he

All eight cities that will host women’s matches next year also hosted men’s games in 2014: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador

only started six games his rookie year.»

Peyton Manning reminisced about his playing days in the Carrollton youth league at Audubon Mark and later at Newman, where he passed for more than 7,000 yards and 92 touchdowns, while earning National Player of the Year honors as a senior He also spoke about his record-setting career at the University of Tennessee and his Hall of Fame carer in the NFL, where he earned a record five MVP awards and became the first quarterback to win Super Bowls with two teams (Colts and Broncos).

“I was always proud to be

United States forward Christian Pulisic, left, and teammate Chris

session Tuesday ahead of a World

SOCCER

Continued from page 1C

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino didn›t reveal his plan Wednesday for Pulisic in the match against Turkey, which is meaningless for both teams. The Americans are locked into first place in their group, while Turkey has been eliminated from knockout-round contention.

»Pulisic is talking with the medical (staff),» Pochettino said in an afternoon news conference at SoFi Stadium.

“We have to decide if it’s possible to play from the beginning, or maybe play from the bench and play the second half.” Pochettino did indicate that his players who have already received yellow cards

Folarin Balogun Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Tyler Adams are unlikely to play, at least as starters.

“For the guys that have yellow cards, it’s not necessary to take another yellow card and not be available for the next stage,” Pochettino said. “It’s a normal easy answer not to play with them

from the beginning.”

Pulisic hopes the plan includes at least some playing time for him as the U.S. ramps up for its roundof-32 match in Santa Clara, California, on July 1. While Pulisic›s calf injury robbed him of one chance on the World Cup stage, he felt certain he wouldn›t be out for long.

“I never feared anything worse,” Pulisic said. “I was pushing, and I was really close to trying to be available for the last game, for sure. I did feel a little something (against Paraguay), but I definitely was able to push through in the first half and just get me through. But yeah, it wasn’t quite ready but it wasn’t anything where I feared anything worse than what it was.”

With no stakes for the U.S. against Turkey Pochettino seems likely to provide some rest to key players in his starting lineup while giving a few of his reserves possibly their only opportunity to hit the field. That sounds great to Richards, who thinks some time off wouldn›t be a hindrance.

“Our trainings are pretty intense,» Richards said «I

think fitness won›t be an issue. I don›t think sharpness will be, either Obviously it›s good to keep into some sort of rhythm but I think these guys deserve it if they get the chance (Thursday). I think we›ll be fine when it comes to the next game.”

Pulisic was visibly excited as a spectator during the Americans› win in Seattle, celebrating along with his teammates as they capably handled a second straight opponent for their team›s first consecutive World Cup victories since 1930. The U.S. offensive performance without its most accomplished attacking player, particularly in the first half against Australia pleased Pulisic greatly “It’s not surprising to me,” Pulisic said. “I see what this team can do. We have depth. We have really strong players in a lot of positions. I don’t need to do everything. It’s such a strong team. These guys, everyone has each other’s backs. That’s what so fun about it, and to see the way the team performance that we’ve put in, especially the way we’ve started the games, has been fun to watch.”

Qualification for the tournament has already begun. Brazil, which has an automatic spot as host, has never won the women’s tournament and it remains to be seen whether Marta, the

from New Orleans,” Peyton Manning said. “Just incredible memories here in New Orleans and a real honor to join Eli and Bo here in the New Orleans Hall of Fame It means a lot.”

Likewise, Eli Manning spoke wistfully about his playing days at Newman, where he set a then-school record with 7,389 passing yards and 89 touchdowns, while earning three all-state selections and Louisiana Player of the Year honors. He later starred at Ole Miss, where he set or tied 47 school records and then went on to win two Super Bowls and earn four Pro Bowl invitations during stellar 16-year career with the

The first Women’s World Cup was hosted by China in 1991. The United States has won the most titles with four Spain won the last title in 2023 at the tournament co-

New York Giants.

“It’s a great honor,” Eli said. “I love New Orleans. To this day, some of my best friends in the world are my buddies that I went to elementary school and Newman with. I just love the people here.”

The Manning brothers were joined in the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 by former O. Perry Walker High and University of New Orleans standout Bo McCalebb.

McCalebb set scoring records at UNO from 2003-08 and enjoyed a 10-year professional career internationally as a high-scoring point guard. A 2003 graduate of O. Perry Walker High School,

he averaged 20.9 points in his four-year UNO career and played in a school-record 128 games. He led the Sun Belt in scoring three times and finished his career with a UNO-record 250 steals. His 2,679 points are UNO and Sun Belt Conference career records and rank 36th all-time among NCAA Division I men.

“It means everything to me,” said McCalebb, who was inducted into the UNO Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023 and the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025.

“I love the city (of New Orleans). I love the university (of New Orleans). It hasn’t kicked in yet. Everything feels surreal.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDRE PENNER

Richards attend a training

Cup match against Turkey on Thursday

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DHAVID NORMANDO

Christ the Redeemer monument is illuminated in Brazil’s national colors as part of the countdown to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday.

Ashortcut to crunchy half-sour pickles

BY BRUCE WEINSTEIN and MARK SCARBROUGH

Voracious

Half-sour pickles are crunchy and bright green with adistinct snap and gentle flavor In their cookbook “Cold Canning,” Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have aguide to making half sourswitha simplerefrigerator ferment. Sterilizing the jar is crucial, and substitutions should be avoided, exceptfor swapping thyme with herbs like dill or cilantro. Use distilledwater to prevent fermentation issues. After preparing the brineand cucumbers in jars, let them sit at room temperature for 12–16 hours, then refrigerate for five–six days before eating The pickles will last for upto three weeks in the fridge. If you know deli lingo, you know that half-sour pickles are crunchy,bright-green pickles, not the duller green of more familiarlong-souredpickles.

This recipe from our cookbook “Cold Canning” is our first refrigerator ferment: There’snovinegar,but we’re using ashortcut method, not standard fermentation, giving the jar alittle bump toward true fermentation at room temperature before squirreling it away in thefridge for upto three weeks (do not freeze). This way,wedon’tpush the limits of what cold canning can accomplish withpickles. In any event, sterilize the jar and don’tbetempted to make substitutions. Though, for a completely nontraditional take, you can swap out the thyme sprigs for other leafy herbs: tarragon, rosemary, dill, cilantro or parsley

Use only distilled waterfor best results (since the chlorine in tap water or chemicals in well water can haltfermentation.)

Half-Sour Pickles

Makes 7-9 pickles.Recipe is from “Cold Canning” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.

1medium garlic clove, peeledand thinly sliced

1teaspoon coriander seeds

1teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

1teaspoon black peppercorns

2dried bayleaves

1¾ pounds (or 7to9)medium Kirby or pickling cucumbers, each fairlythin and about 5inches long

Distilled water for rinsing the cucumbers

2fresh thyme sprigs

4cups distilled water ¼cup kosher salt

1. Put the garlic, coriander mustard seeds, black peppercorns and bay leaves in one clean 2-quart jar or other container.

2. Rinse the cucumbers with distilled water, gently scrubbing them with anew sponge or awad of paper towels (without nicking the skins). Stuff the cucumbers and thyme sprigs into the jar

3. Whisk the 4cups of distilled water and salt in abowl until the salt dissolves. Pour this brine over the cucumbers and aromatics,leaving about ½-inch head space. If the brine does not cover everything, make more in that same ratio by volume to fill the container (Make sure no cucumbersticks out of the brine.)

4. Cover or seal; set aside at room temperature for 12–16 hours.

5. Refrigerate to steep until the cucumbersare crisp and starting to get sour,5–6 days, before enjoying. (The longer the pickles sit in the brine, the saltier and more sour they’ll get.)

LIVING

OUTDOOR SPECIAL

Summer is theright time for apicnic! With the Fourth of July holiday coming up, and considering how special this 250th anniversary of our nation is,why wouldn’tyou want to celebrate?

Even if you cannot go out for apicnic, you can eat picnic food at home. So Ihave picked some traditional picnic foods, like potato salad, as well as some nontraditional items,like Lemon CreamPie in ajar,sowecan celebrate thepast and look forward to thefuture.

Buffalo Chickpea Wraps, Recipe 2D

Potato Salad

Serves 8.

8medium redskinned potatoes, unpeeled,quartered and boiled until forktender 1cup mayonnaise ½cup prepared basil pesto or sundriedtomato pesto 4cloves garlic, chopped ¼cup olive oil 5scallions, chopped using white and green parts

1cup fresh basil leaves, chopped ½pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1teaspoon salt ½teaspoon pepper ¼cup capers, chopped ½cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped 4hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced

1. Place thedrained, cooked potatoes into alarge bowl. In aseparate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, prepared pesto, garlic andolive oil. Mix until uniform and set aside.

The Oven Barbecued Chicken is great cold. This versionis easy to makeand designed for dipping. Cut chicken strips from thebreast or buy already cut chicken fingers, if you prefer breast meat. If you prefer

Apicnic staple, potatosalad can be bland and very mayonnaise-forward. Itried to punch up the flavors abit, while making sure the hunks of potatoare nicesized and comforting. This is not bland potatosalad. Be sure to keep it cold on ice. Youcan make it the daybefore and refrigerate it so it stays cold in acooler

2. Addthe choppedscallions,basil leaves, tomatoes, salt, pepper,capers andolivestothe bowl withthe potatoes. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the bowl. Mix thoroughly with asturdy spoon. Cover until ready to serve Keepthe bowl and the eggs chilled.

3. When ready to serve, sprinkle with the sliced eggs. Toss and serve.

BYGRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

If you love the fiery kick of Buffalo sauce, chances are you’ve reached foritcountless times over the years to sauce up wings served at atailgate, or to add some oomph to one of Pittsburgh’sfavorite party appetizers

Liz Williams makes potato salad at home in Chalmette.

Makes 84-ounce jars

Lemon Cream Pie in aJar

Crust or topping (depending on howyou like it):

1cup crushed vanilla wafers, graham crackers or Ritz-style crackers if you likeyour crust salty

3tablespoons melted butter

Creamy layer (I like my creamylayer in themiddle):

1generous cup full-fat vanilla Greek yogurt Lemon layer (I like my lemon layer on the bottom):

2⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice

114ounce can condensed milk (or condensed coconut milk)

2eggs, cracked and whipped with afork

1. Mix the lemon juice, condensed milkand egg together with afork until well combined in amicrowaveable bowl.Heatfor 1 minute in the microwaveon

Serves 8.

2½

high. Removefromthe microwave and stir again with the fork. Return the bowl to themicrowave and cook for30seconds. Remove and stir with afork. Cook for 30 more seconds. Set aside to begincooling Assembling the pie in a jar: 1. Thelayers can be added in anyorder that you like. Youmay startwiththe crumb to mimicacrust. Distribute thecrumbsevenly amongthe 8jars. Add a few drops of themelted butter into each jar and stamp down thecrumbs with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon.Ilike tostart with the lemonmixture and put thecrumbs on last so

that they stay crispy.This is your dessert. Make it the way you want.

2. The next layerfor me is alwaysthe yogurt. Distributethe yogurtequally among the jars.

3. End withyour choice of layers. If you add the crumbslast, adda fewdrops of meltedbutter for extra flavor.Ifyou endwith the yogurt, youcould garnish with lemon zest or amint leaf. That is up to you.

4. My jarislemon curd on the bottom, yogurtinthe middleand crumbsontop. Youcouldmake 2recipes of this dessert, which is preportioned for thepicnic, and keep theother batch in the fridge for snacks.

OvenBarbecued Chicken Strips

or

2tablespoons olive oil

The sauce: (You will need 2batches of this sauce. One for cooking thestrips, andone for dipping.Donot use the cooking batch for dipping.)

2cups tomato ketchup

2tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

3tablespoons brown

¼cup cane syrup

3tablespoons smoked paprika

1tablespoon minced garlic (about 5cloves)

¼cup olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F Mix all ingredients together in apot and cook, stirring occasionally,until the mixture begins to bubble around the edge of the pot. Cook, stirring as needed, to incorporatethe sugar andthe syrup.

2. Cover the pot and cook for 5more minutes. Allow to cool.

(Repeat this process for the secondbatch of sauce.Cool and refrigerate the second batch until you are readyto leave for your picnic. Divide

PICNIC

Continued from page1D

thighs, as Ido, buy boneless, skinless thighs and cutthem into strips with a sharp knife. Cook them in the oven, and make enough for two meals. The day that you cook them, serve them for dinner.Use the leftovers for the picnic the next day Whip up lots of sauce for moredipping, making sure each person gets alittle cup of it. The Lemon Cream Pie in ajar is easy to transport,

amongthe eaters fordipping sauceontheir plates.) To prepare thechicken:

1. Salt and pepper the chicken strips. Then use the oliveoil to coat asheet pan.

2. Coat the strips with the prepared sauce by dipping them so that they arewell covered. Lay them out on thesheet pan. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.Remove thesheet panfromthe oven andturn

which is alwaysanimportant consideration for apicnic.Keepitcold untilyou beginthe meal, thenset out thejars so they aren’t too cold,asthe flavors are best just cool.Havingindividual jars makes serving easy and if you are not keeping the jars, it makes cleanup quick. Don’t forget to pack fruit and extra drinks. If you are having apicnicatabeach or park, you might consider having table linens and glasses. It’sfun and slightly elegant to eat outdoors with real tableware. If youare goingtobe eatingonthe ground, or not able to easily drag things

Buffalo Chickpea Wraps

the strips. Brush the turned strips withmore sauce.

3. Return the strips to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes. Do not overcook.

4. Place the cooked strips into acontainertocarry to thepicnic site andserve when ready. Give everyone adollop of sauce for dipping from your secondbatch of sauce. Be prepared withpaper towels or wipes.This is messy but worthit!

around with you, paper or other disposable goods can make the meal run smoothly Youshould takeall of this into consideration as you plan. Anddon’tforget bottle openers, condiments and clean up wipes for hands and faces. Happy birthday, America!

Liz Williamsisfounder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans.Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’spodcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. EmailLiz at lizwillia@gmail.com.

Makes 4wraps. If using cannedchickpeas,besuretorinse and drain themtoremove excess starch before addingtothe hotsauce.Recipe is adapted from “Weeknight Vegetarian” by Joe Woodhouse.

FOR SAUCE:

1⁄3 cup tahini

Finely grated zest and juice of 1lemon Salt, to taste

2½ ounces cold water FOR WRAPS:

2(15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4tablespoons hot sauce, such as Texas Pete or Frank’sRed Hot, plus more forgarnish

1clove garlic, finely minced

1celerystick, finely chopped

1small red onion or 2green onions, finely sliced or chopped

2tablespoons chopped cilantro

4(10-inch) flour tortillas

1cup (4 ounces) blue cheese, crumbled

2⁄3 cup (3½ ounces) cherry tomatoes, quartered Babygem or romainelettuce, shredded

Neutral oil, for cooking

CHICKPEA

Continued from page1D

Woodhouse’slatestcookbook, “Weeknight Vegetarian: Easy VegetableRecipes for Lunch &Dinner” (Kyle Books, $30), is abetter-foryou vegetarian spin on the dish. It’smade with chickpeas instead of chopped chicken, cream cheeseand shredded cheddar Arich source of protein,

1. Whisktahiniwith lemon zest and juice and agood pinch of salt. Add enough of the measured water to loosen themixture and form asauce; fluid but notrunny is thekey

2. Toss drained chickpeas in amixing bowl with hot sauce and garlic, gently crushingafew chickpeas to help the mixture cometogether.Stir in celery,onion and cilantro. Tasteand adjustseasoning.

3. Gently warm flatbreads in adry fryingpan to make themsoftand malleable. Youalso can warm them by laying them on atoaster; just be careful they don’t catch fire

chickpeas (legumes) are also cholesterol-free and full of soluble fiber.They’re also aheck of alot cheaper than chicken: a15-ounce canoften costs less than $1 andserves two people. Included in the“AssemblyJobs(mostly)” section of Woodhouse’sbook,this recipe requires minimal cookingtomaximumeffect. If you know your way aroundafrying pan and can chop astalk of celery you’regolden.

‘I’m

she…complained

Dear Miss Manners: Iaman aunt to aniece who is married with two sons. She’s always been somewhat naive about certain things. This last Christmas, she gave me a$25 gift card to aplace where Iget pedicures. Iwas somewhat surprised, as apedicure here costs $49. She and her husband makeacombined incomeof over $150,000. They recently moved into ahome costing $800,000, and Igave them $3,000 to have theinterior painted by aprofessional. Igenerously give them money for their kids’ college funds, as well as other things. Ienjoy being apart of their lives and I can afford to be generous. Iamnot complaining about the size of her gift. My concern is that she doesn’tseem to understand appropriategift card amounts. Ionce had someoneeducatemealong these lines as to what dollar amount is an appropriate wedding gift. When I later married, Ireceived a$10 gift from acouple, bothofwhom had enjoyed thereception’sprimerib

4. Spread tahinisauce on flatbreads.Pile the chickpea mixture in thecenter and add cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

5. With thewrap in front of you, foldupthe edge closest to you. Turn and fold the next section into themiddle and continue until you have aneat pentagon.

6. Brush atiny bit of oil over afrying pan andtoast the wraps on each side, starting with the seam side,untilgoldenand crisp (it will help seal thewrap) Go slowly,asyou want the cheese to meltand the filling to be warmed through.

7. Enjoy with extra hot sauce if you like.

Iused10-inch flour tortillasand Texas Petehot sauce, but any brand of hot saucewill work. If you’re not sure of your heat tolerance, add slowly and taste as you go. While atraditional Buffalo chicken dish doesn’t include cilantro, Iadded a couple of tablespoons for an extra popofcolor and flavor Trying to stay glutenfree? The filling could also be used to add alittle plantbased protein toatossed salad.

Judith Martin

MISS MANNERS

dinner and open bar.I was appalled. Am Iout of bounds in wanting to educate my niece as to what is appropriate? My instinctistotalk to my sister,her mother, aboutthis. Her mom avoids talking to her daughter about most things as shedoesn’t want to upset her Gentle reader: In her own naive way, Miss Manners notices that your concern about gift cards requires a remarkable number of dollar signs to express. Younodoubt meantto say that with gifts, it is the thought that matters. Full stop. Fortunately, good manners prevent you from talking to your niece —oranyone else as agobetween —about how you think she should behave.

Dear Miss Manners: How do you extend an invitation to someone to do something together if you’re not offering to pay forthem?Say aconcert or play is coming up, and you know someone whowould like to go. Of course, you would like to sit together Is it polite to say,“Hey, that band you like is com-

ing here in June. Tickets are (dollar amount). Would you rather grab your own ticket, or should Igrab yours when Iget ours so we can sit together?” Ihavealways felt awkward wheninviting people in these situations, buthave also been stuck whenthe friend doesn’t paymeback If it’s my treat, I’ll just say, “I gotustickets!” Butwhen Iwantthemtojoinbut can’t afford to pay forthem,itis harder to be clear

Gentle reader: That is two questions, but Miss Manners does not mind, particularly as you already answered one yourself Your form forasking is serviceable —when you know the friend is going to pay you back. When that is doubtful, buy your own tickets and leave them to buy theirs. Rather than sit together,you can meet up fordrinks in the lobby at intermission.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO64106.

Cleanshowers with ease

Dear Heloise: The easiest way to clean ashower is with asqueegee. They come in different widths, and it only takes a minutetorun the squeegee over the door when you’re finished showering. Ialso use them to washwindows, which makes this taskasnap. —MaraT., in Alexandria Ideasfor theelderly

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Here are somethings that I’ve learned from taking care of my disabled spouse: n Attach tennis balls to thefeet of walkers for easy gliding.

n If someone has vision problems, attach asmall piece of contrasting tape to thetop of one of their shoes and tell them which side of the shoe it always goes on so that they can put their shoes on correctly

n As an alternative to traditional gift giving, maybe giftsofthe following would really be appreciated: postage stamps, an assortment of greeting cards, asubscription to

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday June 25, the 176th day of 2026. There are 189 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On June 25, 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South. The conflict would last for over three years and would bring about an estimated 4 million deaths, three-quartersofthem civilians.

Also on this date: In 1876, theBattle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’sLastStand, began in theMontana Territory.Asmanyas100 NativeAmericans were killed in the battle, as were 268 people attached tothe 7th Cavalry Regiment, including George Armstrong Custer and Mark Kellogg, thefirst Associated Press reporter todie in theline of duty In 1938, theFair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set aminimum wage, guaranteed overtime pay and banned “oppressive child labor,” was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

their local newspaper or favorite magazine, ashopping trip, or abasket of basic grocery itemsthat they use regularly n Offertotake them shopping, do their shopping, and haul their groceries in forthem Offertohelp them with lawnmowing, snow removal in the winter,leaf raking, or just plain ol’ chores that they can no longer do themselves.

n Check on your elderly/ disabledloved onebycalling or,better yet, visiting them (even if it’s just fora short time) —A Reader,via email Reader,these are some wonderful ideas. Thank you forwriting in! —Heloise Difficult openingbottles

Dear Heloise: Ihave recently been diagnosed with glaucomaand wasprescribed an eye-drop medication to be used nightly The medication comes in the tiniest container,and it’sextremely and frustratingly difficult to open up anew bottle each month.

There’saplastic covering that needs to be torn off to

TODAYINHISTORY

In 1947, “The Diary of a Young Girl,” the personal journal of Anne Frank, a German-born Jewish girl whohid with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World WarII, was first published.

In 1973, former White House Counsel John Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee, implicating top administration officials, including President Richard Nixon as wellashimself,in the Watergate scandal and cover-up.

In 1990, the U.S. SupremeCourt, in Cruzan v. Director,Missouri Department of Health, its first “right-to-die” decision, ruled 5-4 that family members could be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives whohad not made their wishes knownconclusively In 1993, KimCampbell was sworn in as Canada’s 19th primeminister,the first woman to hold the post.

In 1996, atruck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at aU.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

access the top. (I use cuticle scissors.) Then comes the challenge of twisting off the tightly affixed top. It’s too small formetouse my usual gripper,soI usually need my strong husband to open the container.I suspect that mostpeople who are prescribed these eye drops are of an age that they might also have hand arthritis, which would add to the difficulty.What do people do when they live alone?

Iwonderifanyone else with glaucoma hasthis problem. Is there atrick to getting this medication open safely? Thanks for anyhints! —Dottie, in Cleveland Dottie, when you’re at the pharmacy,explain your difficulty of opening up the tiny container and ask the pharmacist if they’ll open the bottle while you wait. I’ve had to do this in the past, and the pharmacist wasvery helpful. After all, the medication is useless if you can’topen the container! —Heloise

Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

In 2015, in the case of King v. Burwell, the U.S. SupremeCourt upheld nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama’shealthcare overhaul in a6-3 ruling that preserved health insurance formillions of Americans. In 2021, aWhite former Minneapolis police officer,Derek Chauvin, was sentenced to 221/2 years in prison forthe murder of George Floyd, aBlack man whose death led to some of the biggest protests against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. Today’sbirthdays: Civil rights activist James Meredith is 93. Singer Carly Simon is 83. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 79. Musician Tim Finn is 74. U.S. Supreme Court

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Oven barbecued chicken strips

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Tech pulls down stocks as day ends mixed

NEWYORK Stocks wavered to a mixed closeWednesday on Wall Street as technology stocks once again weighed down the market.

Declines for several influential tech heavyweightspulled the broader market lower even though most stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground. That was also thecaseonTuesday,when techstockspulled the market lower despite broader gains elsewhere.

A2.3% drop in Microsoft was the heaviest weight on themarket. Oracle slumped 4.6%.

Many large tech companies have been behind Wall Street’s record-setting runthroughout theyear,but analysts have warned their valuationsmay have become stretched.

Google’sparent company Alphabet slipped 0.2%. The company is replacing Verizon in the Dow on Monday. The company’s inclusion in the S&P 500 means more to investors, however,because 401(k) accounts aremuch more likely to include an S&P 500 index fund than anything tied to the Dow Alphabet will become thefifth Magnificent 7company to join the Dow.The others are Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia.

Suit says AI colludesto raise Calif.fuel prices

AI-powered software hasallowedgas station operators across California to illegally collude and drive up prices at the pump, according to afederal lawsuit.

The proposed class action lawsuit, filed Monday,accuses gasstationgiants including Marathon and Circle Kof violating California’santitrust law through Kalibrate, afuelpricing software system used across the world. The plaintiffs describe Kalibrate as the “centralnervous system fora conspiracy to extinguish retail price competition among gas stations.” According to the lawsuit, Kalibrate helps “coordinate high prices” and evendiscourages itsusers from pricingtheir gas lower than competitors,saying that doing so would triggera “downward spiral.”

“Kalibrate promises that if gas stations surrender their pricing decisions and competitively sensitive cost and volume datatoKalibrate Fuel Pricing, thesoftware will enablethemto avoidcompeting with other area stations and to charge higher prices to consumers,” thelawsuit said.

Concern over algorithmic pricing prompted Democratic California Gov.Gavin Newsom lastyear to sign abill saying that state antitrust law applies to pricing algorithms, helping to pave the wayfor thisweek’s lawsuit.

Alibaba sues theU.S. Defense Department

WASHINGTON The Chinese tech giant Alibaba has sued the U.S.Department of Defense, demanding that it be removed fromthe Pentagon’slist of Chinese military companies that prohibits them from landing U.S.defense contracts and carries reputational damage

In the petition filed thisweek in the San Jose division of the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, Alibaba, whichispublicly tradedon the New York Stock Exchange, argued that the designation, announced on June 8, has “no basis in fact or law” and that the Pentagonfailedtoreach its conclusion through any fair process

In 2021, with some in Washington seeing Chinaasagrowing military threat, Congress asked the department to create alist of Chinese companies directly controlled by the Chinese military and security forces, as wellasthose it believed had contributed to thecountry’s defense industrial base.

The current list includes 188 entities ranging from stateowned defense businesses, to private-sector tech companies like Alibaba and the robotics company Unitree.

U.S. settles‘forever chemicals’ case

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration on Wednesday reached amulti-state settlement with chemical giant Chemours Co. over years-long, illegal discharges of synthetic “forever chemicals used to make products resistantto water,grease and stains.The settlementisthe first by the federal government to resolve enforcement claims againsta manufacturer of harmful chemicals known as PFAS. Under the agreement, filedin federal court in West Virginia,

Chemours will paya civil penalty of $22.5 millionfor alleged violations and spend $90 million over 15 yearstomitigate PFAS discharges in three states: West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey Chemours, aspin-off of chemical maker DuPont, also agreedto install PFAS pollution controls for and surface water discharges and air emissions at aWest Virginia facilityatanestimated cost of $60 million, supply clean drinking water to communities near itsWest Virginia andNew Jersey sites at an estimated cost of $280 million; andimplement controlstoreduce releases of PFAS and other toxic chemicals from its facility in North Carolina, based on apending independent assessment.

Combined,the penalties and relief programsare estimated to cost at least $450 million, the Justice Department said.

The settlement allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS forcommercialand military applications whilepreventingfuture contamination and protecting communitiesfrom existing pollution, said AdamGustafson,principal deputy assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“The Trump administration recognizes the important role of Chemours foritcommercial and militaryobligations,” Gustafson saidinaninterview

“The settlement protects public health while preserving that importantbalance.”

The agreement will greatly reducePFAScontaminationofwater, land andair andeven begin to mitigate past harm, Hall said.

“This settlement brings Chemours into compliance with the law and holds it fully accountable,” he said.

In astatement Wednesday,Chemours said it has already begun planning and implementing operational improvements at its facilities and will take steps to mitigate future emissions andenhance existing programs.

The settlement comes as the Trump administration is expected to propose softening Biden-era limitson“forever chemicals” in drinking water,while delaying but keeping tough standards for two common typesofthe substance. Chemours

Deliveries to beginthisyear on Slate’s$25Kelectrictruck

Companysaysithas

180,000 reservations

BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN Los Angeles Times (TNS)

The electric vehicle companySlate Auto set out in 2022 to make the most affordable electrictruck in the country.This week,it unveiled theprice tag: $24,950.

At atime when demand for new electric vehicles is coolingand cars aregetting harder to afford, Slate’scustomizable truck couldbringafresh wave of excitementto the industry Deliverieswillbegin later this year and accelerate in 2027, the company said. Slate’s vehicle is built around asimple concept payonly forwhatyou actually want Buyers will startwithabasic truck without power windows or even paint and can then customizeithowever they like.They can tailor-make their“blankslate” by paying extra for smart phone-compatible screens, speakers, colored wrap or paint.A$5,000 kit even converts the truck into an SUV Slate’sdesignteam is based in LosAngeles County and recently moved into anew space in Carson,California, which employs about 50 workers. The company’sheadquarters are in Troy,Michigan,and itsvehicles will be producedinWarsaw, Indiana.

Squeezing outasmuchcost as possible whilemakingitaseasyasLegos to snap on different options has required complex engineering,which is why the company decided to set up its design studio in Southern California. The region is full of experts.

“Slate has done something smart,” said autoindustryanalyst BrianMoody.“Their EV isn’t onlyabout price, there’s also a strong personalization element. In Southern California, the boxy,retro look will earn it a lot of attention.”

The companyisbuilding amarketplace of accessories for customers to choosefrom, including 54 basic wraps that cost less than $500 each.Incontrast, apaint jobona car can cost thousands of dollars. The marketplacealso offers roof stacks, zip-onseat coversand stereos

Forjustunder$30,000 total, customers can get abasic SUV in afastback or squareback style. Whether it’s configured as atruckor SUV,the EV will have an estimated range of 205 miles and will be compatible with Tesla chargers.

“This is thefirst time in automotive history that consumers aregoing to get to choose,” said Slate Chief Executive Peter Faricy,who

BY BENFINLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON—

AU.S. official told TheAssociated Press on Tuesday that one of Anthropic’sartificial intelligence models hadidentified vulnerabilities in highly sensitive and secure U.S. government computer systemsduringatesting exercise. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss thematter,said Anthropic had teamed up with U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct tests using thecompany’sMythos model. It hadidentified certain vulnerabilities within hours, but that does not meanthe modelwas able to exploit

joined thecompany in March after 13 years with Amazon.

“It started with design, then engineering, andeventually manufacturing, andwe figured out innovations in all three of those phasesthatmakethe vehicle less expensive,”hesaid. Forexample, Slate vehicles were designed from thebeginning to be wrapped instead of painted. The company will offer more than 100 colors of wrap at itslaunch, or customers can choose acustom color Slate did not disclose financial information or howmuchthe vehicles costtoproduce. However,Faricy said thecompany will generate apositive gross margin on its vehicles, meaning they areselling for morethan what they cost to make.

“Whether Slatesucceeds or fails, it has already influenced the conversation forcing theindustry to ask whyaffordable vehicles have becomesorare,” said Jesse Toprak, an industry analyst and founder of OptiCar.ai “They are betting on making higher profit marginsonthe accessoriesand do-it-yourself angle.”

Slate says it has already received more than 180,000 reservations. The earlier acustomer placed theirreservation,the sooner they’ll get their vehicle. Pre-orders opened Wednesday for $300, or $250 if the customer has already paid a$50 reservation fee. Despite thehype,Slateisstill astartup

that has yet to prove itself in the market. The companyhas about750 employees and hasraised more than $700 millionfrom Amazon’sJeff Bezos and others.

“For thevehicle itself, theconcept is brilliant,” Toprak said. “I think theexecution risk is enormous.”

The EV industry has been under fire from the Trumpadministration, which hasremoved incentives for ownership and cleancar goals.

Majorautomakers including Ford and Stellantis have paredback their EV offerings, and other startups have struggled to turn a profit.

The Irvine,California-based EV company Rivian, which hasn’treached profitability sinceits founding in 2009, recentlylaidoff hundreds of workers. It launched itshighly anticipated R2 SUV earlier this month, which will eventually be available forless than $45,000.

Lucid, theluxuryelectricvehicle maker based in Newark,California,announced this weekthat it’sreducing its workforce by 18%. The cuts come just months after it laid off 319 Bay Area employees in February Faricy,Slate’schief executive, saidthe company’svehicle will appeal to awide range of customers.

“There will be alot of people thatare attracted to the affordability but have never had an EV before,” he said.

themwithin thattime, the official said.

Theofficial said thetestingwas done through an Anthropic initiative called Project Glasswing, which brought together tech giants and other companies in hopes of securing the world’scritical software from“severe”fallout that the Mythosmodel could pose to public safety,national security and the economy Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia had briefly mentioned the testing during aJune 11 hearingbeforethe SenateCommittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Warner had said, “This tool broke into almostall of our classified systems, notinweeks but in hours.” He attributed the information to thehead of the National Security Agencyand U.S. Cyber Command,

who is Gen. Joshua Rudd. The NSA declinedtocomment on the matter in an email. An Anthropic spokesman also declinedto comment. Despitethe recent cooperation between Anthropic and U.S. agencies to test forvulnerabilities, tensions betweenthe California companyand the Trump administration have been growing. Anthropic has raisedconcerns over how the U.S. military would use its AI, while the administration hasrestrictedthe use of some of Anthropic’smodels. The administration issued adirective earlier this month requiring Anthropic to prevent foreign nationals from using its latest artificial intelligence models, known as Fable 5and Mythos 5. Anthropic released Fable widely earlierthis month

That model is alimited version of the moreadvanced Mythos, to which the company has tightly limited access duetocybersecurity fears. The directive came10days after PresidentDonaldTrump signed an executive order to establisha framework forthe federal government to vetthe national security risks of the mostadvanced AI systems for up to amonth before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary,the order said. Anthropic said it disabledthe models for all of its customers to comply withthe administration’s directive.

The AI giant said it did not believe the steps taken by the government were warranted by the concern it flagged about apotential security issue.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByMyUNGJ.CHUN

newelectric vehicles is cooling and cars are getting harder to

wave of excitement to the industry.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You may have to step outside your comfort zone when dealing with associates or authority figures. Listen carefully and respond honestly to ensure you understand what others want from you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) An open mind and heart will redefine who you are and what you share. Volunteering, donating and reaching out with compassion will have an infectious effect on those you encounter.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't let what others do stop you from pursuing what matters to you. What you do to make a difference to yourself, your community or a cause you feel passionate about will give you hope for a better future.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Size up situations before you indulge in rhetoric that can cost you. Discipline and ingenuity are necessary if you want to navigate your way through a stormy situation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Size up and sort through differences. How you engage in talks and work alongside others will determine how far you get. By choosing intellect over a force play, you'll gain respect.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec 21) Have faith in yourself and your resources. Focus on fixing up your space. A work-related opportunity will enhance your earning potential. Choose what makes you feel comfortable.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Reach out to experts and get the lowdown on what you can do to contribute to something

purposeful. Walk away from people and situations that are dishonest or cause despair.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Personal improvements show promising results. Engage in fixing up your life and surroundings, and the rewards will shine through in how you treat yourself and others moving forward.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Money and emotions won't gel. Avoid scams and purchases making unreasonable claims. Paymoreattentiontorunningyourhome efficiently and putting money aside for something special.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) You'll be tempted to exaggerate. Stick to the truth or be ready to explain your assumptions. Don't try to change others when your efforts will offer better results if you focus on self-improvement.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Note your feelingsbeforeyouengageinsomethingthat puts your well-being at risk. A change to your living arrangements will help you sort through any differences you have with associates or family members.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You'll be quick to respond. Choose your words wisely, and take the time to process the information you receive prior to blurting out what you think. Your best returns will come from what you learn.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: B EQUALS H

CeLebrItY CIpher

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Professor Shlomo Benartzi, an expert on various types of behavioral finance, said, “Self-control is not a problem in the future. It’s only a problem now when the chocolates are next to us.” Keeping the trump suit under control is often a problem of what to do now, at this trick. Today’s deal would trip the unwary or the perennially optimistic. How should South play in four spades after West leads the heart six? East opened with a textbook vulnerable weak two-bid, promising a good six-card suit and 6-10 high-card points South made a takeout double, and North cue-bid to indicate at least 12 high-card points. South started showing four-card suits in ascending order, and North raised to game in spades. South has two losers in the red suits, so at first glance needs to find spades 3-2. However, on closer inspection, declarer will notice that he can discard dummy’s heart losers on his club winners. Without further thought, but perhaps after eating an orange cream or two, South would win with dummy’s heart ace, cash the two top trumps (getting the bad news), and take his three clubs, discarding dummy’s hearts. However, whenhenextplaysadiamond,Westwins with his ace, draws trumps, and leads a heart, resulting in down four.

Often, when you must make use of a side suit, it is right to play on that suit first. Here, declarer should win the first trick, draw one round of trumps, take his heart discards on the clubs, and play a diamond. Everything is

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

cludedinRider IESto equal $49/kW-year; (2) removal of theIncremen‐tal Customer Charge;(3) removal of thenon-firm energyadjustmentcal‐culated in accordance withRider FCA-6; and(4) additionofa require‐mentthatany customer participating in RiderIES musthaveatleast 5MW ofInterruptible Load (as definedinRider IES) withdiscretionfor ELLto agree to inclusionofcus‐tomerswitha lower amount of Interruptible Loadona case-by-case basis.Inaddition, theAp‐plication proposes four other changestoRider IESthatwerenot specifi‐cally required by the LPSC’sOrder in Docket No. U-37595, specifically, (1) to revise SectionV of Rider IESand thedefini‐tionof“ReliabilityInter‐ruptions” to provide greater certaintywithre‐spect to triggers forper‐tinentevents; (2) to changethe caprefer‐enced in SectionIIof Rider IEStoa capof10% ofthe projectedCom‐panyannualretailpeak demandthatappliesto participation across all ofthe Company’sde‐mandresponsetariffs and products;(3) to changethe maximum durationofeachinter‐ruption from twelve h i h d

p hours to six hours;and (4) to remove thelimita‐tioninSection II of Rider IESthat“Customer’s maximum Interruptible Loadshall notexceed the FirmLoad, as specified in the Customer’s Electric Service Agreement(ESA) oramendment to same asspecified in §VI.A. Further,asnoted,the Company is proposingto withdrawRider FCA-6. Forquestions andcom‐ments regardingELL’s fil‐ing,pleasecallthe LPSC tollfreeat(800) 256-2397 Additionally, the filing including itsattach‐ments maybeviewedin the RecordsDivisionof the LPSC at thefollowing address: RecordsDivision 602N.5th Street,12th Floor BatonRouge,Louisiana 70802 Telephone: (225) 342-3157 ENTERGYLOUISIANA,LLC 192147-JUN25-1T $357.21

p training applied to green infrastructureinstalla‐tions.The projectwillin‐creaseworkforce capac‐ity by training at amini‐mum of 75 LowtoModer‐ate Income (LMI)individ‐ualsingreen infrastruc‐ture(GI)construction and maintenanceprac‐tices,witha goalof

of$850,000 is

beawarded

Applicationpackets are

fordownload beginning June 25, 2026 from theCityofNew Or‐leans Office of Economic Development website https://nola.gov/next/ economic-development/ programs/.Contact this office at (504) 658-4200 or RudaPollard at econom‐icdevelopment@nola.gov to have theNOFAemailedtoyourorganiza‐tion. A virtualmeeting will be heldon July 9, 2026, at 1:00 PM CDT to answer general questionsre‐lated to this NOFA and application.Call-in infor‐mationwillbecirculated prior to themeeting. You may submit questionsin advance of themeeting toRudaPollard at eco‐nomicdevelopment@ nola.gov An electronic copy of a completed application mustbesubmitted to the CityofNew Orleansvia SUBJECT LINEemail RCIP-GIWORKFORCE”to RudaPollard at econom‐icdevelopment@nola.gov by July 31, 2026 no later than 11:59 PM CDT. PublicationDates:

OFFI CIAL PROC EEDIN GS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

REGULAR SESSION

CITY HALL: APRIL 23, 2026

The Council of the City of New Orleans met this day in Regular Session, at 10:07 A.M., in the Council Chamber,City Hall, Council President, JP Morrell, presiding.

On calling the roll, the following members answered to their names:

PRESENT: MORRELL (PRESIDENT)

MCCARRON HARRIS KING GREEN

ABSENT: WILLARD (VICE PRESIDENT)(Arrived later in the meeting).

HUGHES (Arrived later in the meeting).

FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT,CONSTITUTING AQUORUM

ROLL CALL

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

INVOCATION

DR. DONALD BERRYHILL ROCK OF AGES

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

EUGENE J. GREEN, JR.

COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT “D” REPORT

REPORT- OF ANITACURRAN, COUNCIL RESEARCH OFFICER, NEW

ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL, CITY OFNEW ORLEANS -Transmitting the Council Research Office report regarding demolition application #2606800-DEMO for the property located at 1300 Frenchmen StreetCouncil District C.

WITHDRAWN.

DEMOLITION APPLICATION -OFOVELLA ENTERPRISES, LLCTransmitting application #26-06800-DEMO (DEMO-SUMF) requiring City Council review and approval for the following property located at 1300 Frenchmen Street, Council District C WITHDRAWN. AMENDMENT

AMENDMENT TO CALENDAR NO. 35,420

BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL

An amendment to clarify language, extend the length of temporary permits, andtoexpand appeal rights, and otherwise to provide in respect thereto WITHDRAWN.

ORDINANCES ON FINAL PASSAGE

CAL. NO. 35,392 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERMCCARRON- An Ordinance to grant an amendment to Ordinance No. 27,971 MCS (Zoning Docket 126/18) to permitthe expansion of aneighborhood commercial establishment in an HU-RD2 Historic UrbanTwo-Family Residential District, on Square445, Lots Dand E, in the Second Municipal District, bounded by Orleans Avenue, North Rendon Street, Hagan Avenue, and Saint Ann Street (Municipal Address: 3201 Orleans Avenue);and otherwise to providewithrespect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 3/26)

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,393 -BY:

COUNCILMEMBERMORRELL-AnOrdinance to amend and reordain Article 19 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended by Ordinance No. 26,413 M.C.S. and subsequent amendments) to create anew Interim Zoning District (IZD) to be namedthe Transient Lodging Interim Zoning District, the intent of which is to requireconditional use approval for hotels/motels; hostels; short-term rentals, commercial; timeshares; bed and breakfasts, principal andaccessory in all zoning districts citywide wherethey areotherwise permitted; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 6/26)

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,394 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERKING- An Ordinance to amend and reordain Article 13 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended by Ordinance No. 26,413 M.C.S. and subsequent amendments) to define “shipping container dwellings” as homes built from repurposed shipping containers,mandate exterior cladding and additional roofing structures to conceal their industrial features in S-RS Suburban Single-Family Residential Districts, and incorporate them as permitted or conditional uses in relevant zoning district tables; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 7/26)

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,395 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERHARRIS -AnOrdinance to establish aconditional use to permit astandardrestaurant in an HUB1 Historic UrbanNeighborhood Business District, CPC Character Preservation Corridor Design Overlay District, and the Magazine Street Use Restriction Overlay District,onSquare217, Lot D, in the Sixth Municipal District, bounded by Magazine Street, Louisiana Avenue, Camp Street, and Toledano Street (Municipal Address: 3329 Magazine Street);and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONINGDOCKET NO. 9/26)

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,396 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERHARRIS -AnOrdinance to establish aconditionaluse topermit aneighborhood commercial establishment in an HU-RD2 Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District, on Square506, Lots 13 and 14, in the First Municipal District, bounded by Erato Street, South Gayoso Street, South Salcedo Street, and Thalia Street (Municipal Address: 4200 Erato Street);and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING DOCKET NO. 13/26)

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,401 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER WILLARD (BY REQUEST) -

An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into an Amendment No. 1toaCooperative Endeavor Agreement between theCity of New Orleans (the“City”), and Arts Council of New Orleans (“Arts Council”), for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose of promoting public art by establishing the procedureand funding for the execution and acquisition of works of art in public places in the City of New Orleans, as morefully detailed in Amendment No. 1tothe Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form as Exhibit “A”; and otherwisetoprovide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Willard-6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell -1

RECUSED: 0AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,402 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL (BY REQUEST) -

An Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into Amendment No. 1toanexisting CooperativeEndeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and New Orleans &Company (“NO &Co.”) for the continued distribution of the Short Term rental Tax betweenthe City and New Orleans and Company.Amendment No. 1tothe Cooperative Endeavor Agreement will extend the CEA through December 31, 2028, and update terms and provisions setinthe original CEA; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell, Willard-7

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:0

RECUSED: 0 AND THE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,403 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERGREEN (BY REQUEST)An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement among the City of New Orleans (the “City”), the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (the “Commission”), and St. Augustine High School, Inc., New Orleans for a term greater than one year,for the public purpose of supporting,promoting stimulating public interest in, and raising and distributing funds to benefit theconstruction, creation, preservation, and maintenance of public parks and playgrounds, recreational facilities,and recreational and other leisure programs and activities in theCity of New Orleans, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor AgreementasExhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Willard-6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell -1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,404 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER GREEN (BY REQUEST)-An Ordinance authorizing the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into a Cooperative EndeavorAgreement (“CEA”) between the City of New Orleans (“City”), and the Sewerage and Water BoardNew Orleans (“SWBNO”), for atermgreater than oneyear,for the public purposeofconstructionofthe Dwyer Canal Project and allowingpublic access and use of the Project Area following completion of the Project in the City of New Orleans, as more fully detailed in the CEAform as Exhibit “A”; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron, Willard -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell -1

RECUSED: 0

AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,405 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30530 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofRevenues forthe City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate fundstoFilm New Orleans from the NewOrleans Tourism &CultureFund to cover productionexpenses; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0

AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,406 -BY:

COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL,

WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30531 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofExpenditures forthe City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate fundstoFilm New Orleans from the NewOrleans Tourism &CultureFund to cover productionexpenses; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,407 -BY:

COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL,

WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30531 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofExpenditures forthe City of New Orleans forthe Year 2026”, to reallocate fundstoensurecompliance with City Charter requirements for Independent Police Monitor and Office of Inspector General; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,408 -BY:

COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30530 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofRevenues forthe City of New Orleans forthe Year 2026”, to appropriate fundsfromthe Sex Offender Registry TechnologyFund to the Police Department forovertimecosts; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,409 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30531 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofExpenditures forthe City of New Orleans forthe Year 2026”, to appropriate fundsfromthe Sex Offender Registry TechnologyFund to the Police Department forovertimecosts; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,410 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30530 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofRevenues forthe City of New Orleans for theYear2026”, to appropriate Opioid Abatement Settlement funds to the NewOrleans Health Department for recoveryand support services; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,411 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30531 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating BudgetofExpenditures forthe City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate Opioid Abatement Settlement funds to theNew Orleans Health Department forrecoveryand support services; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell -6

NAYS:0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,412 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30530 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance

Providing an Operating BudgetofRevenues forthe City of New Orleans forthe Year 2026”, to appropriate grant fundstothe Health Department to support activities aligned withthe Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI); and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,413 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No.30531 M.C.S., as amended,entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating BudgetofExpenditures forthe City of New Orleans forthe Year 2026”, to appropriate grant fundstothe Health Department to support activities aligned withthe Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI); and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,414 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRISS (BY REQUEST) AND

MCCARRON -AnOrdinance to authorizethe Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative EndeavorAgreement, Lease of Land and Act of Donation between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and Mercy Partners, LLC (“Mercy Partners”), forthe public purposeofconstructing water retentioninfrastructureatthe site formerly known as LindyBoggs Medical Center (the “Site”) forthe benefitofthe water, sewer,and drainage infrastructurefor the City of New Orleans, and in turnthe health, welfare, and safety of the citizens in the City of New Orleans, and related activities, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative EndeavorAgreement form as Exhibit “A”, the Lease of Land form as Exhibit “B”, and the Act of Donation form as Exhibit “C”; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron, Willard -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell -1

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED.

CAL. NO. 35,420 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL-AnOrdinance to amend and reordain section 10-107 of the Code of the City of New Orleans to clarify application requirements, provide timelines forgranting applications, and provide for an appeal right; and otherwisetoprovidewith respect thereto ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris,Hughes, King, McCarron,Morrell, Willard -7

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0

RECUSED: 0 AND THEORDINANCE WASADOPTED. CAL. NO. 35,421 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -An Ordinance authorizing the Mayorofthe City of New Orleans to enter into a

Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the CityofNew Orleans(“City”), the New OrleansRedevelopmentAuthority (NORA), andFinance New Orleans(FANO), foratermgreater than one year,for the public purpose of administering the Housing Trust Fund in the CityofNew Orleans, as more fully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto

ROLL CALL:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard- 1

RECUSED: 0 ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED CAL. NO. 35,422 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON, KING ANDHUGHES -AnOrdinance to amendand reordain Chapter 158 of the Code of the CityofNew Orleans, to establish customer protections, rules governingregulatory proceedings, andguidelines for utilityprograms; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto

ROLL CALL: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard- 1 RECUSED: 0 ANDTHE ORDINANCE WASADOPTED MOTIONS/RESOLUTIONS (LYING OVER)

NO. M-26-82

CITYHALL: February 26, 2026

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN WHEREAS, at itsmeeting on February 6, 2026, the Civil Service Commission adopted the followingamendment to the Classified PayPlan (Parks and Parkways). In accordance with Article X, Section10ofthe Constitution of Louisiana,

Constitution of Louisiana, the amendment to the Classified PayPlan is approvedtobeeffective March 1, 2026. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, Thatthe ClerkofCouncil shallforward acertified copy of thismotion to the Directorofthe Civil Service Commission andthe Chief Administrative Officer APRIL 23, 2026 THEFOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THEROLLWAS CALLED ON THEADOPTIONTHEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Willard-1 ANDTHE MOTIONWAS ADOPTED MOTIONS/RESOLUTIONS NO. M-26-142 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN WHEREAS, Section70-10(a) of the New OrleansCityCodeordainsthat certaincontracts providing for legal representation paid with City funds must be signedbythe president of the CityCouncil; and WHEREAS, Section70-10(b) of the New OrleansCityCodeordainsthat the President of the New OrleansCityCouncil (“Council”) shallnot execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, the CityofNew OrleansCivil Service Commission (“Commission”) and Jay Ginsberg, after completingthe appropriate procurementprocess desiretoenter into aThird Amendment to the July 29, 2024, Professional Services Agreement fora hearing examiner forthe Civil Service Commission fora total amount of $70,000 forthe term beginning January 1, 2026, and ending December 31, 2026; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS,that the President of the Councilshallbeadded as asignatory to the professional services agreementbetween the Commission and Jay A. Ginsberg. BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS,that the President of the Councilisauthorized to sign the professional services agreement between the Commission andJay A. Ginsberg.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS,that the ClerkofCouncil shallforward copies of thismotion to the Executive Counsel forthe Civil Service Commission forpreparation the professional services agreementtoeffectuate thisrequest.

THEFOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THEROLLWAS CALLED ON THEADOPTIONTHEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Green,Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Willard-1 ANDTHE MOTIONWAS ADOPTED NO. M-26-143 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN

WHEREAS, Section70-10(a) of the New OrleansCityCodeordains that certaincontracts providing for legal representation paid with City funds must be signedbythe President of the CityCouncil; and WHEREAS, Section70-10(b) of the New OrleansCityCodeordainsthat the President of the New OrleansCityCouncil (“Council”) shallnot execute any such contract unless authorizedtodosobyCouncil motion; and WHEREAS, the CityofNew OrleansCivil Service Commission (“Commission”) and Big Easy Law Group, LLC, after completingthe appropriate procurement process desiretoenter into an Amendment to the January 30, 2025, Professional Services Agreementfor ahearing examiner forthe Civil Service Commission foratotalamount of $25,000 forthe term beginning January 1, 2026, and endingDecember 31, 2026; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS,that the President of the Councilshallbeadded as asignatory to First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement between the Commission and Big Easy Law Group, LLC BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS,that the Presidentofthe Councilisauthorized to sign the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreementbetween the Commission and Big Easy Law Group, LLC BE IT FURTHER MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS,that the ClerkofCouncil shallforward copies of thismotion to the Executive Counsel forthe Civil Service Commission forpreparation of the professional services agreement to effectuate thisrequest. THEFOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THEROLLWAS CALLED ON THEADOPTIONTHEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Green,Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Willard- 1 ANDTHE MOTIONWAS ADOPTED NO. M-26-144 BY:COUNCILMEMBERS WILLARD, MCCARRON, KING ANDHUGHES (BY REQUEST) WHEREAS, Section70-10(a) of the New OrleansCityCodeordains that certaincontracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year must be signedbythe president of the CityCouncil; and WHEREAS, Section70-10(b) of the New OrleansCityCodeordainsthat

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-26-173 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBERKING

BEITMOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, that the City Planning Commission’sreport and recommendation of approval subject to two (2) provisos related to ZONING DOCKET 29/26 ,initiated by527 St. Joseph, LLC, requesting consideration of aconditional use topermit ahotel in aCBD-5 Urban CoreNeighborhood Lower Intensity Mixed-Use District and the Transient Lodging Interim Zoning District, on Square161, Lots 1and 2, in the First Municipal District, bounded by St. Joseph Street, Camp Street, Magazine Street, and Julia Street (Municipal Address: 527 Saint JosephStreet), is hereby APPROVED AND MODIFIED as follows: The first proviso shall read as follows to exclude short-term rentals from Transient Lodging Use”:

1. The approval of the application is limited to Transient Lodging Use, except for any type of short-term rental,and any variances specifically granted as part of this application. With the exception of any variances that arespecifically granted as part of this approval, the Transient Loding Use shall be compliant with all relevant requirements of the zoning ordinance.

BEITFURTHER MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, that the Clerk of Council is directed to forwardcopies of this motion to the Law Department, which is directed to prepareanordinance to effectuate this motion and is granted flexibility to make any changes necessary to achieve the will of the Council as set forth in this motion. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD INFULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS:Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell, Willard- 7 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-26-174

BY:COUNCILMEMBERSMORRELL AND HUGHES

WHEREAS, on January 28, 2026, the Council passed Motion M-26-62 directing the City Planning Commission to consider amendments to Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, to define Data Centers and any related uses, to consider whether these uses should be permitted or conditional in any zoning district oroverlay,and to implement appropriate use and design standards for these uses if applicable, including but not limited to density requirements, soundproofing and safety measures, and any other regulation necessary to preserve the quality of life of nearby residents,businessesand institutions, asapplicable; and WHEREAS, in the course of considering theseamendments,the City Planning Commission has found that it would be most beneficial to undertake amoreextensive study to work with various governmental stakeholders to ensurethat the recommended amendments appropriately consider the complex considerations presented by these uses; and WHEREAS, the Interim Zoning District created by M-26-63 remains in place and will ensurethat no new data centers may be created during the pendency of this text amendment process; NOW, THEREFORE BEITMOVEDBYTHE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OFNEW ORLEANS, That the deadline for the City Planning Commission to consider text amendments asdirected by Motion M-26-62 is hereby extended to six months from the date of this Motion. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL; THE ROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell, Willard- 7 NAYS: 0

ABSENT:0 RECUSED: 0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-26-175 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL

WHEREAS, Section 70-10 of the Code of the City of New Orleans requires that certain contractsproviding for the aggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 in city funds during the initial term and all allowable renewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year or providing for legal services must be signed by the President of the City Council; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10 further provides that the President of the City Council shall not execute any such contract unlessauthorized to do so by Council motion; and WHEREAS, The City of New Orleans, Chief Administrative Office, and the State of Louisiana- Louisiana Department of Health, desiretoenter into apartnership to utilize federal funds designated from the Center for Disease Control to improve quality of life and careofcitizens through high impact work to curb or eliminate new HIV,STIs, and Hepatitis infections among vulnerable populations through accesstotesting, linkage to care andservices, maintenance in care, health outcomes improvement, and stigma reduction efforts; for aperiod of three (3) years, the maximum amount deliverable to the City of New Orleans being $2,824,826.00; the request is for approval for themulti-year duration of this partnership; NOW THEREFORE

BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OFNEW ORLEANS, That the President of the Council shall be added as asignatory to the contract between the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Department of Health (STI/HIV/Hepatitis Program), and BEITFURTHER MOVED, That the President of the Council is hereby authorized to sign the contract between the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Department of Health (STI/HIV/Hepatitis Program), as attached hereto as Exhibit A; and BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion, including Exhibit A, to the City Attorney’sOffice to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell, Willard- 7 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. **Copies ofthe attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING CAL. NO. 35,423 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -AN

ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Sections 70-84 and 70-87 of the Code ofthe City of New Orleans, relative to budget reporting requirements;and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

CAL. NO. 35,424 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER MCCARRON- AN ORDINANCE torename aportion of West Robert E.Lee Boulevard, bounded by Hammond Highway,Regent Street, and Pontchartrain Boulevard, to Zephyr Court; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. CAL. NO. 35,425 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL AND HARRIS (BY REQUEST) -ANORDINANCE to amend and reordain sections of Chapters 66and 154 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, to transfer parking and towing enforcement from the Department of Public Works to the Department of Police; and otherwisetoprovide withrespect thereto.

CAL. NO. 35,426 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON, KING, GREEN AND HUGHES (BY REQUEST) -

ANORDINANCE to authorize New Orleans Building Corporation (“NOBC”), subject to NOBC BoardofDirectors approval, to sell its right to receive certain payments under the Second Amended and Restated Lease Agreement dated April 3, 2020, by and between NOBC,aslandlord, Jazz Casino Company,L.L.C. (“JCC”), as tenant, and the City,asintervenor (the“Lease”), to anewly-formed entity (the “Purchaser”) arranged for and financed by TPG Angelo Gordon or one of its affiliates or designated funds foralump-sum payment at closing of at least $100,000,000 (the “Minimum PurchasePrice”);toauthorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans and thePresident of the City Council, as necessary or appropriate, to execute and deliver an intercreditor agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and the Purchaser,pursuant to which the City will agree to subordinate its right to receive certain other amounts payable under the Lease under certain circumstances; to authorize the Mayor of the City ofNew Orleans and the President of the City Council, as necessary or appropriate, to execute and deliver,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, such other documents as may be necessary or appropriate to effectuate the sale by NOBC; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. CAL. NO. 35,427 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER KING (BY REQUEST) -AN

ORDINANCE authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement among the City of New Orleans (the “City”), the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (the Commission”), and Friends of InspireNOLA for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose of supporting, promoting, stimulating public interest in, and raising and distributing funds to benefitthe construction, creation, preservation, and maintenance of public parks and playgrounds, recreational facilities, and recreational and other leisureprograms and activities in the City of New Orleans, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCESWERE LAID OVER AS REQUIREDBY

LAW Therebeing no further business,onmotion of Councilmember King, seconded by Councilmember Harris,and without objection, the Council meeting adjourned at 11:55 A.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER CLERK OF COUNCIL

CCH/jmr

NOCP 9111

Council Resolution R-25-669, p.10.

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: March 26, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,392 NO. 30624 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER MCCARRON AN ORDINANCE to grant an amendment to Ordinance No. 27,971 MCS (Zoning Docket 126/18) to permit the expansion of aneighborhood commercial establishment in an HU-RD2 Historic Urban Two-Family

Residential District, on Square445, Lots Dand E, in the Second Municipal District, bounded by Orleans Avenue, North Rendon Street, Hagan Avenue, and Saint Ann Street (Municipal Address: 3201 Orleans Avenue); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, Zoning Docket Number 3/26 was initiated by 3201 Orleans Ave., LLC and referredtothe City Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission held apublic hearing on this zoning petition and recommended approval of the requested amendment in its report to the City Council dated February 23, 2026, presented in Zoning Docket Number3/26;and

WHEREAS, the changes weredeemed necessary and in the best interest of theCity of New Orleans and the requestwas approved by the City Council, subject to two (2) waivers and nine (9) provisos, as stated in Motion Number M-26-100 of the Council of the City of New Orleans on March 12, 2026. SECTION 1. THECOUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Ordinance No. 27,971 MCS (Zoning Docket 126/18) to permit the expansion of aneighborhood commercial establishment in anHU-RD2 Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District, on Square

445, Lots Dand E, in the Second Municipal District, bounded by Orleans Avenue, North Rendon Street, Hagan Avenue, and Saint Ann Street (Municipal Address: 3201 Orleans Avenue); is hereby amended, authorized and approved, subject to the following waivers and provisos, as specifically setforth herein: WAIVERS:

1. The developer shall be granted awaiver of Section 20.3.NN.3,which

limits commercial use to the structure’sground floor and limits commercial use to 3,000 squarefeet, to permit commercial use of both floors and to permit over 3,000 squarefeet of commercial space.

2.The developershall be granted awaiver of Section 20.3.NN.5,which limits commercial use to the existing building footprint and intensity,to allow the commercial use of the recently-constructed addition.

PROVISOS:

1. The Department of Safety and Permits shall issue no building permits or licenses for this project until final development plans areapproved by the City Planning Commission and recorded with the Office of Conveyances. Failuretocomplete the conditional use process by properly recording plans within aone-year time period or failuretorequest an administrative extension as provided for in Article 4, Section 4.3.H.2 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance will void the conditional use approval.

2.The developershall consolidate the lots associated with the site into a single lot of record through the City Planning Commission. The developer shall submit acomplete application for the resubdivisionprior to City Planning Commission staffsign-offon final plans. The approved subdivision shall be recorded with the Office of Conveyances prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy by the Department of Safety and Permits.

3. If required, the developer shall obtain aCertificate of Review for the modification to the structurefromthe Historic District Landmarks Commission.

4. The plans submitted to the City Planning Commission for final approval shall indicate the type, locations, and height of any and all exterior lighting. Any proposed exterior lighting shall comply with standardsof Article 21, Section 21.5 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

5. The developer shall obtain permits for any proposed signage and proposed signs shall be in compliance with the regulations of Article 24 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

6. The developer shall removethe existing non-conforming sign in the Orleans Avenue public right-of-way as per Article 25, Section 25.6 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

7. In accordance with Article 23, Section 23.13.C.1 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, the plans submitted to the City Planning Commission for final approval shall indicate the location of the trash receptacle which may be within an enclosed structureorscreened by aseven foot (7’) opaque fence with latching gates. At no time, excepting trash collection days, shall trash be stored as to be visible from the public rights-of-way

8.The developer shall obtain alease of servitude from the Department of Property Management’sDivision of Real Estate and Recordsfor all encroachments into apublic right-of-way adjacent to the site.

9.The developer shall comply with the applicable standardsof Article 20, Section 20.3.NN: a. The existing structureisnon-residential in its construction and original use. b. The existing structureand the proposeduse shall be pedestrianoriented in design, including public entrances oriented to the street and storefront windows along the first floor

c. The following uses arepermitted within aneighborhood commercial establishment:

i. Art Gallery ii. Arts Studio

iii. Day CareCenter,Adult or Child

iv.Office

v. Personal Services Establishment vi. Restaurant, Specialty vii. Retail Goods Establishment d. The principal entrance shall be adirect entry from the street the property abuts.

e. No off-street parking is required. f. Drive-through facilities areprohibited.

g. Outside storage or display is prohibited. All business, servicing, processing, and storage operations shall be located within the structure. h.Any signs aresubject to the requirements of the HU-B1A District.

i. Hoursofoperation arelimited to 6am through 10pm.

SECTION 2. Whoever does anything prohibited by this Ordinance or fails todoanything required to be done by this Ordinance shall be subject to whatever civil liabilities, penalties, or remediesthe law prescribes.

SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall have the legal forceand effect of authorizing this conditional use after: (1) all proviso(s) listed in Section 1, which impose aone-time obligation have been completely fulfilled and complied with; and (2) all proviso(s) listed in Section 1, which impose a continuing or ongoing obligation have begun to be fulfilled. Fulfilment of acontinuing or ongoing obligation is based on the City Planning Commission’sapproval of the final site plan, which shall be submitted within one year of adoption of this Ordinance by the City Council, unless extended as authorized by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The Executive Director of the City Planning Commission shall verify that the development plan incorporate all conditions set forth in this Ordinance and shall sign the plan to indicate final plan approval. The final approved plan shall be recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, within 30 days of the date of final approval, and evidence ofsuch recordation shall be submitted to the City Planning Commission. No use or occupancy certificates or permits, other than the building permits needed to fulfill the proviso(s), shall be issued until the final approved plan isrecordedand evidence of recordation is submitted to the City Planning Commission. If the development plan is not approved and recorded, within the timeframes provided in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, then this Ordinance shall be null and void with no legal force or binding effect. Furthermore, if the requirements of Section 4.3.H.1 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance arenot satisfied within the timeframe allotted by Sections 4.3.H.1 and 4.3.H.2 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, the conditional use will expire, and this Ordinance will be null and void. The preceding deadlines may be extended via motion in accordance with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2025

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS:0 ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: March 26, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,393 NO. 30625 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Article 19 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S.,

6.

8.

review,the Executive Director may request that the applicant provide additional information, beyond that required by the official appeal application forms, as is necessary for the Executive Director to provide arecommendation. The Executive Director shall transmit the recommendation to the City Council within 60 days of receipt of the completed application to appeal and payment of the filing fee. The Council shall have 60 days from the receipt of the Executive Director’s recommendation to act by motion directing the drafting of an ordinance to grant the appeal (with or without modifications) or to deny the appeal. If the Council fails to act within 60 days from the receipt of the recommendation, the appeal shall be deemed to be denied.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: March 26, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,394 NO. 30626 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING

AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Article 13 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S., as amended by Ordinance No. 26,413 M.C.S. and subsequent amendments) to define “shipping container dwellings” as homes built from repurposed shipping containers, mandate exterior cladding and additional roofing structures to conceal their industrial features in S-RS Suburban Single-Family Residential Districts, and incorporate them as permitted or conditional uses in relevantzoning district tables; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. WHEREAS, Zoning Docket Number 7/26 was initiated by City Council Motion No. M-25-567 and referred to the City Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission held apublic hearing on this zoning petition and recommended denial of the requested text amendment in its

OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: March 26, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,395 NO. 30627 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

AN ORDINANCE to establish aconditional use to permit astandard restaurant in an HU-B1 Historic Urban Neighborhood BusinessDistrict, CPC Character PreservationCorridor Design Overlay District, and the Magazine Street Use Restriction Overlay District, on Square217, Lot D, inthe Sixth Municipal District, bounded by Magazine Street, Louisiana Avenue, Camp Street, and Toledano Street (Municipal Address: 3329 Magazine Street); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, Zoning Docket Number 9/26 was initiated by Grace 9999, LLC and referred to the City Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, theCity Planning Commission held apublic hearing on this zoning petition and recommended approval of the requested conditional use in its report to the City Council dated January 23, 2026, presented in Zoning Docket Number 9/26;and WHEREAS, the changes weredeemed necessary and in the bestinterest of the City of New Orleans and the requestwas approved by the City Council, subject to three (3) provisos, as stated in Motion Number M-26-102 of the Council of the City of New Orleans on March12, 2026.

SECTION1.THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OFNEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That aconditional use to permit astandardrestaurant in an HU-B1 Historic Urban Neighborhood Business District, CPC Character Preservation Corridor Design Overlay District, and the Magazine Street Use Restriction Overlay District,onSquare217, Lot D, in the Sixth Municipal District, bounded by Magazine Street, Louisiana Avenue, CampStreet, and Toledano Street (Municipal Address: 3329 Magazine Street); is hereby authorized and approved, subject to the following provisos, as specifically set forth herein: PROVISOS:

1. In accordance with Article 20, Section20.3.ZZ of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, the use shall be in accordance with the following use standards:

a. The restaurant shall submit asecurity and operation plan, to be reviewed bythe Director of Safety and Permits, and all other relevant City agencies, with the following added:

i. For restaurants with an outdoor component, the plan shall include provisions regarding how thefacility will control the sales of alcoholic beverages to ensureconsumption on-premises.

ii. All restaurants serving alcoholic beverages shall provide exterior security cameras.

b. The restaurant shall submit anoise abatement plan, to be reviewed by the Director of Safety and Permits, and all other relevant City agencies.

c. If the restaurant containsa brewing or distilling facility on-site, a floor plan indicating the area reserved for brewing or distilling and adescription of the facility andcapacity.On-site micro-brewing and micro-distillery facilities areonly allowed in standardrestaurants.

d. The standardrestaurant shall submit asummary of the number and location of places of worship, educational facilities, and parks and playgrounds within three-hundred (300) feet of the proposed location.

e. Unless otherwise permitted by law,retail sales of packaged alcoholic beverages for consumption offthe premises areprohibited.

f. The restaurant is limited to the following hours of operation. No new customers arepermitted after the closing hour,and the restaurantshall be completely shut down, including no staffpresent on the premises, within two (2) hours of the closing time. Opening hour is for firstopening of business to customers.

i. Sunday thru Wednesday: from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

ii. Thursday thru Saturday: from 6:00 am to 12:00 am (midnight).

g. Hours of operation shall be posted on or near the restaurant entrance visible to the public.

h. Live entertainment is aseparate principal use and subject to separate approval.

i. If the restaurant use plans an increaseinintensity,such as an expansion of floor area or increase in permitted occupancy,the security and operation plansshall be updated and resubmitted for approval. The revisedsecurity and operation plan shall be approved prior to the issuance of any permits. j.Security and operation plans may be revisedbythe property owner or person authorized in writing by the owner.New plans shall be resubmitted forapproval.

k. Aholding bar is permitted. The holding bar is an accessory use to the principal use ofthe standardrestaurant. The holding bar is an area of the restaurant wherealcoholic beverages areprepared and served at the bar Holding bars aresubject to the following: i. Aholding bar cannot exceed

If aportion of the holding bar is used to serve nonalcoholic beverages, such as coffee, that area is included as part of the holding bar area. The holding bar area shall be calculated from the back wall to the front of the bar.Ifthe holding bar is not set against awall, the areashall be calculated from one bar front to another ii. The holding bar should be only open to the public while food is being served in the restaurant dining room.

l.Thereshall be no cover charge to enter the restaurant.

2.The Department of Safety and Permits shall issue no building permits or licenses for this project until final development plans areapproved by the City Planning Commission and recorded with the Office of Conveyances. Failuretocomplete the conditional use process by properly recording plans within one year or failuretorequest an administrativeextension as provided for in Article 4, Section 4.3.H.2 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance will void the conditional use. 3. The restaurant shall operate in accordance with the definition of a StandardRestaurant as defined in Article 26, Section26.6 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. SECTION 2. Whoever does anything prohibited by this Ordinance or fails todoanything required to be done by this Ordinance shall be subject to whatever civil liabilities, penalties,orremedies the law prescribes SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall have the legal force and effect of authorizing this conditional use after: (1) all proviso(s) listed in Section 1, which impose aone-time obligation have been completely fulfilled and complied with; and (2) all proviso(s)listed in Section 1, which impose a continuing or ongoing obligation have begun to be fulfilled. Fulfilment of acontinuing or ongoing obligation is based on the City Planning Commission’sapproval of the final site plan, which shall be submitted within one year of adoption of this Ordinance by the City Council, unless extended as authorized by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The Executive Director of the City Planning Commission shall verify that the development plan incorporate all conditions set forth in this Ordinance and shall sign the plan to indicate final plan approval. The final approved plan shall be recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, within 30 days of the date of final approval, and evidence ofsuch recordation shall be submitted to the City Planning Commission. No use or occupancy certificates or permits, other than the building permits needed to fulfill the proviso(s), shall be issued until the final approved plan is recorded and evidence of recordation is submitted to the City Planning Commission. If the development plan is not approved and recorded, within the timeframes provided in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, then this Ordinance shall be null and void with no legal force or binding effect. Furthermore, if the requirements of Section 4.3.H.1 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance arenot satisfied within the timeframe allotted by Sections 4.3.H.1 and 4.3.H.2 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, the conditional use will expire, and this Ordinance will be null and void. The preceding deadlines may be extended via motion in accordance with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OFNEW ORLEANS APRIL23, 2026 JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026 APPROVED: MAY6,2026

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

R. COLLIER

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: March 26, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,396 NO. 30628 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

AN ORDINANCE to establish aconditional use to permit aneighborhood commercial establishment in an HU-RD2 Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District, on Square506, Lots 13 and 14, in the First Municipal District, bounded by Erato Street, South Gayoso Street, South Salcedo Street, and Thalia Street (Municipal Address: 4200 Erato Street); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, Zoning Docket Number 13/26 was initiated by PJS Investments, LLC and referredtothe City Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission held apublic hearing on this zoning petition and recommended approval of the requested conditional use in its report to the City Council dated February 23, 2026, presented in Zoning Docket Number 13/26;and WHEREAS, the changes weredeemed necessary and in the best interestof the City of New Orleans and the request was approved by the City Council, subject to three (3) provisos, as stated in Motion Number M-26-103 of the Council of the City of New Orleans on March 12, 2026.

SECTION1.THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That aconditional use to permit aneighborhood commercial establishment in an HU-RD2 Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District, on Square506, Lots 13 and 14, in the First Municipal District, bounded by Erato Street, South Gayoso Street, South Salcedo Street, and Thalia Street (Municipal Address: 4200 Erato Street); is hereby authorized and approved, subject to the following provisos, as specifically set forth herein:

PROVISOS:

1. TheDepartment of Safety and Permits shall issue no building permits or licenses for this project until final development plans areapproved by the City Planning Commission and recorded with the Office of Conveyances. Failuretocomplete the conditional use process by properly recording plans within one year or failuretorequest an administrative extension as provided forin Article 4, Section 4.3.H.2 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance will void the conditional use. 2. The developer shall comply with the applicable standardsof Article 20, Section 20.3.NN: a. The existing structureisnon-residential

-6

Personal Services Establishment vi. Restaurant, Specialty vii. Retail Goods Establishment

e. The structureislimited to the existing building footprint.

building footprint or intensity of use is permitted.

f. The principal entrance shall be adirect entry

abuts.

g. No off-street parking is required.

h. Drive-through facilities areprohibited.

i. Outside storage or display is prohibited. All business, servicing, processing,and storage operations shall be located within the structure. j.Any signs aresubject to the requirements of the HU-B1A District.

k. Hoursofoperation arelimited to 6am through 10pm

3.The plans submitted to the City Planning Commission for final approval shall indicate the installation of at least 2short-term bicycle parking spaces, as set forth in Article 22, Section 22.4.A (Table 22-1) and Article 22, Section 22.6 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The design of bicycle parking spaces shall comply with the requirements as set forth in Article 22, Section 22.9 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. When submitting plans to the City Planning Commission for final approval, the developer shall provide documentation of all required approvals by the Department of Public Works for any bicycle spaces located in the public right-of-way SECTION 2. Whoever does anything prohibited by this Ordinance or fails to do anything required to be done by this Ordinance shall be subject to whatever civil liabilities, penalties, or remedies the law prescribes. SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall have the legal force and effect of authorizing this conditional use after: (1) all proviso(s) listed in Section 1, which impose aone-time obligation have been completely fulfilled and complied with; and (2) all proviso(s) listed in Section 1, which impose a continuing or ongoing obligation have begun to be fulfilled. Fulfilment of acontinuing or ongoing obligation is based on the City Planning Commission’sapproval of the final site plan, which shall be submitted within one year of adoption of this Ordinance by the City Council, unless extended as authorized by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The Executive Director of the City Planning Commission shall verify that the development plan incorporate all conditions set forth in this Ordinance and shall sign the plan to indicate final plan approval. The final approved plan shall be recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, within 30 days of the date of final approval, and evidence ofsuch recordation shall be submitted to the City Planning Commission. No use or occupancy certificates or permits, other than the building permits needed to fulfill the proviso(s), shall be issued until the final approved plan is recorded and evidence of recordation is submitted to the City Planning Commission. If the development plan is not approved and recorded, within the timeframes provided in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, then this Ordinance shall be null and void with no legal force or binding effect. Furthermore, if the requirements of Section 4.3.H.1 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance arenot satisfied within the timeframe allotted by Sections 4.3.H.1 and 4.3.H.2 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, the conditional use will expire, and this Ordinance will be null and void. The preceding deadlines may be extended via motion in accordance with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE (AS CORRECTED)

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,401 NO. 30629 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER WILLARD (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into an Amendment No. 1toa Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”), and Arts Council of New Orleans (“Arts Council”), for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose ofpromoting public art by establishing the procedureand funding for the execution and acquisition of works of art in public places in the City of New Orleans, as morefully detailed in Amendment No. 1tothe Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form attached hereto as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to providewith respect thereto. WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) ofthe Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant

fitLouisiana corporation authorized to enter into the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement; and WHEREAS, the City and the Arts Council desiretoincrease funding to the Arts Council to truly reflect the actual amount generated by the bond sale in “Article III –Funding” of the original cooperative

NAYS:

ABSENT:0 RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026 CALENDAR NO. 35,403 NO. 30631 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement among the City of New Orleans (the “City”), the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (the “Commission”), and St. Augustine High School, Inc., New Orleans for a term greater than one year,for the public purpose of supporting, promoting, stimulating public interest in, and raising and distributing funds to benefit the construction, creation, preservation, and maintenance of public parks and playgrounds, recreational facilities, and recreational and other leisure programs and activities in the City of New Orleans, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavors with any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, the Commission is acommission of the City as set forth in Sections 5-1001, 5-1002, and 5-1003 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans with the powers, duties, and functions as established therein and pursuant to M.C.S. Ordinance No. 24126; and WHEREAS, St. Augustine High School, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana is a non-profitcorporation located at 2600 A.P.Tureaud Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70119; and WHEREAS, the City,through NORD owns Perry Roehm Stadium, located at 2939 TouroStreet, New Orleans, LA 70122; and WHEREAS, the City,the Commission, and St. Augustine High School, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana desiretoenter into acooperative endeavor agreement in order to accomplish the valued public purpose of supporting, promoting, stimulating public interest in, and raising and distributing funds to benefitthe construction, creation, preservation, and maintenance of public parks and playgrounds, recreational facilities, and recreational and other leisureprograms and activities in the City of New Orleans; NOW THEREFORE SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS that the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, is hereby authorized to enter into the attached cooperative endeavor agreement with the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, and St. Augustine High School, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, for aterm greater than one year for the public purpose of providing quality recreational, academic, cultural, and/or economic opportunities for the City’sresidents by allowing St. Augustine High School, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana to utilize Perry Roehn Stadium in exchange for year-round, comprehensive maintenance of the facility and renovations. SECTION 2.

Orleans,ishereby authorized to enter into the attached CEAwith SWBNO,for aterm of 20 years, for the public purpose of for the public purpose of construction of the Dwyer Canal Project and allowing public accessand use of the Project Area following completion of the Project in the City of New Orleans.

SECTION 2. That said CooperativeEndeavor Agreement is attached to this ordinance as “Exhibit A” and incorporated and made apart hereof.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THECOUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ONAPRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENAMORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Willard- 6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell -1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,405 NO. 30633 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERSHARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30530 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Revenues for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate funds to Film New Orleans from the New Orleans Tourism &CultureFund to cover production expenses; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. SECTION1.THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OFNEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, that Ordinance No. 30530 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any provision therein contained to the contrary,to transfer funds allocated therein as follows: FROM: INTERGOVERNMENTALREVENUES –FUND 6699

Intergovernmental Revenues Grants, Contributions, and Fund Transfers $125,000 TOTAL $125,000 TO: NEW ORLEANS FILM COMMISSION TRUST– FUND 5118 Total New Orleans Film Commission Trust $125,000

TOTAL$125,000 ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENAMORENO

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell –6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,406 NO. 30634 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBERSHARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate funds to Film New Orleans from the New Orleans Tourism &CultureFund to cover production expenses; and otherwisetoprovide withrespect thereto.

SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, that Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any provision therein contained to thecontrary,to transfer funds allocated therein as follows:

FROM: INTERGOVERNMENTALREVENUES -FUND 6699

INTERGOVERNMENTAL

600 –GRANTS, CONTR. AND FUND TRANSFERS $125,000

TOTAL $125,000 TO: NEW ORLEANS FILM –FUND 5118

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

100-PERSONAL SERVICES $90,042

200-OTHER OPERATING $34,957

TOTAL $125,000

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ONAPRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENAMORENO

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M. AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green,Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,407 NO. 30635 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An OrdinanceProviding an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to reallocate funds to ensure compliance with City Charter requirements for

ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1 RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,408 NO. 30636 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30530 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Revenues for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate funds from the Sex Offender Registry Technology Fund to the Police Department for overtime costs; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto

SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, that Ordinance No. 30530 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to

authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any provision therein contained to the contrary,totransfer funds allocated therein as follows: FROM: INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES –FUND 6699

Intergovernmental Revenues

Grants, Contributions, and Fund Transfers $50,000

TOTAL $50,000 TO: SEX OFFENDER PROPRIETARY– FUND 5124

Total Sex Offender Proprietary $50,000

TOTAL $50,000

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY6,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,409 NO. 30637 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the City of New Orleans for the Year2026”, to appropriate funds from theSex Offender Registry Technology Fund to the Police Department for overtime costs; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto

SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, that Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any provision therein contained to the contrary,totransfer funds allocated therein as follows: FROM: INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES -FUND 6699

INTERGOVERNMENTAL 600 –GRANTS, CONTR. AND FUND TRANSFERS $50,000

TOTAL $50,000 TO: SEX OFFENDER PROPRIETARY– FUND 5124 POLICE DEPARTMENT

100-PERSONAL SERVICES $50,000

TOTAL $50,000

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard- 1

RECUSED: 0

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,410 NO. 30638 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST)

M.C.S., as amended,

AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30530

entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Revenues for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”, to appropriate Opioid Abatement Settlement funds to the New Orleans Health Department for recovery and supportservices; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, that Ordinance No. 30530 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any provision therein contained to the contrary,totransfer funds allocated therein as follows:

FROM: INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES –FUND 6699

Intergovernmental Revenues Grants, Contributions, and Fund Transfers

$3,865,166

TOTAL $3,865,166

TO: LA OPIOID ABATEMENT TASK FORCE –FUND 5153

$3,865,166

Total LA Opioid Abatement Task Force Fund

TOTAL $3,865,166

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard- 1 RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,411 NO. 30639 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2026”,toappropriate Opioid Abatement Settlement funds to the New Orleans Health Department for recovery and support services; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, that Ordinance No. 30531 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding

$3,865,166 TO: LA OPIOID ABATEMENT TASK FORCE –FUND 5153

HEALTHDEPARTMENT 200-OTHER OPERATING $3,865,166

TOTAL $3,865,166

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

OF THE COUNCIL

TO THE MAYOR ONAPRIL 27, 2026 APPROVED: MAY6,2025

APPROVED: MAY6,2026 HELENA MORENO MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard- 1 RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,413 NO. 30641 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS, MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON AND KING (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No.

TOTAL $50,000

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Willard- 1 RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,414 NO. 30642 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS HARRIS (BY REQUEST) AND MCCARRON AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement, Lease of Land, and Act of Donation between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and Mercy Partners, LLC (“Mercy Partners”), for the public purpose of constructing water retention infrastructureatthe site formerly known as Lindy Boggs Medical Center (the “Site”) for the benefi

conditions described in the Act of Donation; NOW THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, is hereby authorized to enter into the attached Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with Mercy

MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain section 10-107 of the Code of the City of New Orleans to clarify application requirements,provide timelines for granting applications, and provide for an appeal right;

BEVERAGES ARTICLE II. –PERMITS

DIVISION 3. –APPLICATION

Sec. 10-107 –Issuance of temporary permit.

(a) The department of safety and permits shall issue a90-day temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, and, if applicable, atemporary

temporary mayoralty permit for live entertainment, is apermitted use, valid conditional use, or valid legal non-conforming use within the zoning district of the subject property

(2) Neither the applicant nor the listed businessowner(s)havebeen found guilty of aviolation related to alcoholic beverage sales or public safety within the previous 365 days

(3) Neitherthe applicant nor the listed businessowner(s)haveapplied for morethan one temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit for the subject property within 365 days of submission of acomplete application. (b)Within five calendar days of the issuance of atemporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, the department of finance shall issue a90-day temporary occupational license pursuant to Sec. 150-953 of this code.

(c) For the purposes of this section, a“complete application” means the submission of the following:

(1) Application for an occupational license, an alcoholic beverage outlet permit, and, if applicable, atemporary mayoralty permit for live entertainment; (2) State alcoholic beverage permit; (3) State health permit; (4) State fire marshal approval; (5) Approval of thedistrict councilmember for the subject property for the temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, the temporary occupational license, and, if applicable, the temporary mayoralty permit for live entertainment; and

(6) Payment of all applicable permit and license fees

(d) Each of the temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, temporary occupational license, and, if applicable, temporary mayoralty permit for live entertainment expire90days after issuance and shall not, on its own, entitle the applicant to an alcoholic beverage outlet permit, occupational license, ormayoralty permit for live entertainment or automatic renewal thereof, as issued under the authority of this chapter

(e) If abuilding permit has been issued to the applicant for construction or renovation of the applicant’spremises,the department of safety and permits shall not issue atemporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit until a temporary or final certificate of occupancy is issued in connection with the construction or renovation of the applicant’spremises

(f) Temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permits,temporary occupational licenses, and, if applicable, temporary mayoralty permits for live entertainment shall not be renewed.

(g) The provisions of this section shall cease to be effectiveonJuly 1, 2027. Nevertheless, any temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit issued prior to this sunset date shall remain valid until its 90-day expiration date.

(h) The director of the department of safety and permits may deny a temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit when thereisone or more outstanding health, safety, or building violations associated withthe subject property,that, in the opinion of the director,present aserious threat to the health, safety,orwelfareofthe public; provided, however,the director shall provide written justification to the applicant within five days of denying the permit.The written justification shall specifically identify and explain the serious threat to the health, safety,or welfareofthe public. If the applicant disagrees with the denial of the permit by the director of the department of safety and permits, the applicant may appeal the denial of the permit to the Chief Administrative Officer or his designee within 15 calendar days of the director’sdecision to deny the permit”.

(i) Thefailuretogrant or deny any of the temporary permits created by this section or license created by section 150-153(b) within 15 calendar days results in the automatic issuance of the temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, atemporary occupational license, and, if applicable, atemporary mayoralty permit for live entertainment.

(j) Within five calendar days of denying atemporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, or,ifapplicable, atemporary mayoralty permit for live entertainment, thedepartment of safety and permits shall inform the applicant in writing of the specificreason(s) fordenying the temporary permit.Within five calendar days of denying atemporary occupational license, the department of finance shall inform the applicant in writing the specificreason(s) for denying atemporary occupational license. If the applicant disagrees with the denial of atemporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit, temporary occupational license, or,ifapplicable, temporary mayoraltypermit for live entertainment, the applicant may appeal the denial to the Chief Administrative Officer or his designee with 15 calendar days of the denial decision. ADOPTEDBYTHE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW

ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026

JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes,King, McCarron, Morrell, Willard- 7 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:0 RECUSED: 0

shall expire60days after issuance and shall not, on its own, entitle the applicant to an alcoholic beverage outlet permit, occupational license, or mayoralty permit for live entertainment orautomatic renewal thereof, as issued under the authority of this chapter (d)(e) If abuilding permit has been issued to the applicant for construction orrenovation of the applicant’spremises, the department of safety and permitsshall not issue atemporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit until acertificate of occupancy has been issued in connection with the construction or renovation of the applicant’spremises.

(f) Temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permits, temporary occupational licenses, and, if applicable, temporary mayoraltypermits for live entertainment shall not be renewed.

(g) The provisions of this section shall cease to be effective on July 1, 2027. Nevertheless, any temporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit issued prior tothis sunset date shall remain valid until its 60-day expiration date.

(h) The director of the department of safety and permits is authorized to deny atemporary alcoholic beverage outlet permit when thereisone or moreoutstanding health, safety, or building violations associated with the subject property,that, in the opinion of the director,present a serious threat to the health, safety,orwelfare of the public; provided, however,the director shall provide written justification to the applicant within five days of denying the permit. The written justification shall specifically identify and explain the serious threat to the health, safety,orwelfareofthe public. If the applicant disagrees with the denial of the permit by the director of the department of safety and permits, the applicant may appeal the denial of the permit to the Chief Administrative Officer or his designee.

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,421 NO. 30644 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (“City”), the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), and Finance New Orleans (FANO), for aterm greater than one year,for the public purpose of administering the Housing Trust Fund in the City of New Orleans, as more fully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit “A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavors with any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, NORA exists and operates as generally providedfor in La. R.S. 33:4720, et seq., for public purposes that include the prevention and elimination of blighted areas, the development of vibrant neighborhoods, andthe establishment of economically and socially sound communities through abroad range of redevelopment activities; and WHEREAS, FANO is apublic trust created pursuant to the provisions of the Louisiana Public Trust Act contained in Chapter 2-A of Title 9ofthe Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended (R.S. 9:2341-9:2347, inclusive) (the “Public Trust Law”) with the City as its beneficiary,and is authorized to promote, encourage and further the accomplishment of all activities which areormay become of benefittothe City and which have a public purpose, and areauthorized by the Public Trust Law; and WHEREAS, the City,NORA, and FANO desiretoenter into acooperative endeavor agreement in order to accomplish the valued public purpose of administering the Housing Trust Fund in the City of New Orleans; NOW THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS that the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, is hereby authorized to enter into the attached cooperative endeavor agreement with NORA and FANO, for aterm of ten years, for the public purpose of administering the Housing Trust Fund in the City of New Orleans.

SECTION 2. That said Cooperative Endeavor Agreement is attached to this ordinance as “Exhibit A” and incorporated and made apart hereof.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green, Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: April 9, 2026

CALENDAR NO. 35,422 NO. 30645 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL, WILLARD, MCCARRON, KING ANDHUGHES AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Chapter 158 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, to establish customer protections, rules governing regulatory proceedings, and guidelines for utility programs; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That Chapter 158 of the Code of the City of New Orleans be and the same arehereby amended and reordained as follows: “Article I. -InGeneral Division I. —Generally Sec. 158-1. -Purpose. The purpose of this Chapter is to establish an efficient and uniform system by which the New Orleans city council (“council”) may institute, oversee, and/or participate in any proceeding affecting the council’ssupervision, regulation, and control over utilities or that affect the interests of ratepayers in the city of New Orleans. For the purpose of this chapter,the term “utilities” refers to electric and natural gas service providers. Sec. 158.2. -Amendmentstothis chapter Any amendments to this chapter may be conducted pursuant to Sec. 3-114 of the Home Rule Charter Sec. 158-3. -Utility regulatory manual. The council shall adopt by resolution the Utility Regulatory Manual (“URM”) in connection with this chapter.The purpose of the URM is to provide asingle common reference document to provide detailed rules, procedures,descriptions, and specifications for filing requirements and procedures related to this chapter

Acopy of the URM shall be made available on the council’swebsite. The URM may be amended by resolution of the council. Sec. 158-4. -Utility designated representative. Each utility regulated by the council shall designate and maintain the designation of anatural person responsible for the performance of acts required under this chapter including notice of service in other forums. The utility shall file notice of the original designation and of any changes to the designation with the clerk of council with copy to the Council Utilities Regulatory Office (“CURO”) within two business days of the designation. Such designation shall be signed by both the designee and aregistered officer of the utility Sec. 158-5. –Successor entities. Should an entity cease to exist, responsibilities under this article shall be assumed by the entity’ssuccessor or functional successor under applicable law and/or practice. Sec. 158-6. –Computing time. Unless otherwise stated in this chapter,the URM, or ordered by the council, the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedureshall determine the amount of time allowed or prescribed.

to set forth a proceduretoaddress certain customer complaints regarding utility service. The process described herein is intended to be easy,inexpensive, and result in an independent, neutral assessment of whether therehas been aviolation of the customer bill of rights or service regulations by the utility Sec. 158-10. –Applicability The customer complaint resolution process established in this division is applicable to complaints between acustomer and autility wherethe subject of the complaint is under the jurisdiction of the council. The subject of complaints reviewed under this article include, but arenot limited to the following: (a) violation of the council-approved customer service regulations, (b) violation of the customer bill of rights enumerated in Sec. 158-8, (c) inaccurately reading acustomer’smeter,the failureofameter to correctly recordconsumption within the range of accuracy established in the customer service regulations due to mechanical damage or defect, failuretomanually read customer’smeter after receiving communication of that damage or defect, and failuretoproperly recorda meter reading, (d) misapplication of credit scoring procedures and information, (e) failuretokeep scheduled appointments with the customer or their representative, and (f) unauthorized release of confidential customer information, payment history,orconsumption patterns. Certain issues aremoreappropriately resolved in other forums, either by the council itself, judicially,orinanother proceeding designed specifically for their resolution. Sec. 158-11. -Complaint process.

(a) Summary of Customer Complaint Resolution Process. The customer complaint and dispute resolution process begins with the filing of an initial complaint with the utility.The utility shall review the complaint in amanner consistent with the procedures set forth in the utility’sservice regulations. If acustomer is dissatisfied with the disposition of the complaint, the customer may request an appeal with CURO. CURO shall review appeal applications for eligibility and dismiss those that areineligible. Unresolved property loss claims resulting from aloss of service or defect in service shall be regulated by council-approved customer service regulations of the respective utility,subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, and thus ineligible for the Council’sadministrative appeal process.

(b) Utility complaint reporting. To ensureclaims arebeing resolved efficiently and fairly,the utility providing

service or public utility commission, theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), the Securities andExchange Commission of the United States (“SEC”), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States (“NRC”) or any other body, which regulates in whole or part the utility or utility-related activities and operations of utilities, or which regulates in whole or part companies which own or operate such utilities, the owner or operator or such public utility shall, within one day of filing such document, report, or application, electronically submit acopy of such filing and written notice to the clerk with acopy to CURO and thecouncil’sutility advisors. Division IV—Applications foraChangeofRates, Tariffs, or Services. Subdivision I- In General Sec. 158-43. -Purpose. Rate cases areproceedings used to address the costs of operating and maintaining autility system, the allocation of those costs among customer classes, and the recovery of the allocated costs through changes in tariffs and/or rates. Sec. 158-44. –Applicability The standard filing requirements shall apply to allutilities under the supervision, regulation and control of the council and to all applications made by them Sec. 158-45. -Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except wherethe context clearly indicates adifferent meaning: Affiliate(s) means any entitythat directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by,orisunder common control with autility.Asused herein, “control” means the possession,directly or indirectly,ofthe power to direct or cause the direction of the management andpolicies of acompany,whether suchpower is exercised through one or more intermediary companies, or alone, or in conjunction with, or pursuant to an agreement, and whether such power is established through amajority or minorityownership or voting of securities,common directors, officers or stockholders, voting trusts,holding trusts, associated companies, contracts or any other direct or indirect means. Control means the possession, directly or indirectly,ofthe power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of acompany,whether such power is exercised through one or moreintermediary companies, or alone, or in conjunction with, or pursuant to an agreement, and whether such power is established through amajority or minority ownership or voting of securities, common directors, officers or stockholders, voting trusts, holding trusts, associated companies, contracts or any other direct or indirect means. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly,owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing five percent or moreofthe aggregate number of the issued andoutstanding voting securities of any domestic public utility Cost allocation manual means the manual that sets out autility’scosts allocation policies and related procedures and provides an accurate account of the methods used to allocate the utility’sinvestments and expenses, and non-retail sales revenues that flow between the utility and itsaffiliate(s).

Cost of service means the total costofprovidingservice to jurisdictional customers, defined by customer class,asdetermined by acost-of-service study which allocates the utility’stotal costs, representing the utility’s revenue requirement, to customer classes

Effective date means the date on which arate application filed pursuant to this article is proposed to become effectiveasan approved rate schedule

Formula rate plan means aprocedurebywhich rate schedules for autility maybeperiodically adjusted based on an established evaluation of the utility’scurrent revenue requirement relative to current revenues Gross revenue conversion factor means the factor which, when multiplied times adollar of operating income, yields the amount of revenue needed to produce that dollar of income after allowing for state and federal income taxand revenue tax. Period I means the most recent 12 consecutivemonths,orthe most recent calendar year,for which actual data is available, the last day of which is no more than nine (9) months prior to the date of the filing of the application. Period II means the 12 consecutive months immediately following the end of PeriodI

Pro-forma adjustments means adjustments made to identify and illustrate theimpact of known and measurable changes made to Period Iand Period II based upon actual data during the year

Projections means estimated resultsofoperations based only upon known facts or reasonable assumptions that can be quantified concerning future events. Rate schedule means aschedule of rates and conditions for aspecific classification or for other specificservice.

RateCase means aproceeding related to achange in electric and gas rates, new services, and new rate schedules applicable to electric and gas service.

Taxexpansion factor means the value that when multiplied by aspecified value for operating income, yields the tax expense correlated to the revenue needed to produce that dollar of operating income.

Test period means atwelve-month period consisting of Period IorPeriod II used to demonstrate the need for additional revenueand to evaluate the effects of the proposed change in rates Uniform system of accounts means the uniform system of accounts as promulgated by the FERC as of the date the filing is served. Working capital means an allowance for cash, materials and supplies,fuel stock, and prepayments. Sec. 158-46. -Filing of applicationtochangerates or services.

(a) The filing requirements established in this division shall govern applications to change rates or services (“applications”)

(b)Autilitymay request to change rates or service by submitting its application electronically to the clerk of council with copy to CURO and in accordance with filing requirements under this article. The application shall include asummary of the utility’srequested change to rates or services, including potential bill impacts for typical usage customers in each rate class.

(c) All statements, schedules,spreadsheets,and working papers included in the filing and used in support of the application(s),orcontained in discovery responses, shall be provided in an operable electronic format, i.e. models and spreadsheets aretobeprovidedwith formulae intact and source data included. To the extent electronic data is providedinPDF format, the PDF shall not contain any security settings that limit the usability or the extraction of data.

(d) Electronic data shall include any work sheets that will either include formulae intact or at aminimum anote as to how anumber was calculated. The related and relevant data must be providedinaformat usable by the council.

(e) All information required by thesestandard filing requirements,orany other applicable law,ordinance, or order and/or rule of the council shall be included in and/or attached to the application at the time it is filed and served. The fact that any information or data is required by this article shall not be construed as astatement of or evidence of regulatory policy or as an endorsement of any concept, principle, methodology,orallowance, hitherto, presently,orinthe futureemployed or proposed to be employed in this or any other jurisdiction in the calculation of rate base, rate of return, revenuerequirements, rate design, or any other aspect of regulation of rates and services.

(f) An application for awaiver under Sec. 158-52 shall be included with any application for achange in rates.

(g) Acceptance of applications

(1)Deficient applications. Wheredeficiencies arenoted by the council, its designees, or CURO, the filing shall be deemed as accepted on the dates that such deficiencies arecured and approved by the council or when the council has granted awaiver to the standard filing requirements.When filing deficiencies have been noted by the council, its designees, or CURO andthe utility has corrected the deficiencies,the council, its designees, or CURO shall notify the utility at the earliest practicable date that the filing hasbeen accepted.

(2) Accepted applications. Wherenodeficiency is noted by the council, itsadvisors, or CURO, within 14 daysofthe date the filing is served, the filing shall automatically be deemed as accepted beginning on the 15th day following such date. Sec. 158-47. -Council reviewofapplications. Upon acceptance, the council shall have 12 monthsinwhich to reviewthe filing and to render adetermination as to the proper rates to be charged by the utility.Ifthe council has not made this determination by 12 months plus one day after thedate of acceptance, therates as submitted by the utility in the accepted filing shall become effective subject to refund. During the period when the rates arecollected subject to refund, the utility shall keep an accurate account of all amounts received under the change in rates,including: (a)the monthly billing determinants of gas, heat, electricity,and power sold and delivered to each

customers and the utility whole.The council shall then authorizerefunds or surchargesorbothsothat the level of revenue collected equals that determined by the council to be appropriate. Interest on the revenue to be refunded or collected shall be chargedatanaverageprime rate foreach calendar quarter.The applicable averageprime rate foreach calendar quarter shall be the arithmetic mean, to the nearest 0.01 percent, of the prime rate values published in the FederalReserve Bulletin, or in the Federal Reserve’sSelected Interest Rates (Statistical Release G. 13), forthe fourth, third, and second months preceding the firstmonth of the calendar quarter Interest shall be compounded quarterly.The costs of effecting the refunds shall notbededucted from the amounts refunded Subdivision II -Technical Procedureand Requirements. Sec. 158-48. -Filingstandards All applications filed pursuant to this article shall provide the information necessarytopermit athoroughanalysis of the utility’sapplication. If the utility believes that additional information is necessarytosupport its application or is proposing aposition that requires adeparturefromthe basic exhibits, the utility shall provide supplemental informationasconsidered necessary. Each utility shall provide the required informationonappropriate schedules and provide an index and references to these schedules. Any additional exhibits submitted by the utility shall be clearly identified and filed according to the appropriate sectionas established herein. Sec. 158-49. -Supplemental information. In addition to the information required by the filing requirements described in Subdivision I, the council has theauthoritytorequiresupplemental information necessarytofulfill and/or satisfy the purposes of this article. If any supplemental information requests areconsidered necessary, the utility shall respondtosuch requests within 30 days after receiving such awritten request, or within such additional period as the council, forgood cause shown,may allow. Unless otherwise orderedbythe council, the filing of supplemental information shall comply with the requirements of Sec.158-48. Sec. 158-50. -Work papers Autility shall submit all work papers related to data which support the test period. Theutility shall provide a full explanation of the bases forall adjustments. Upon request by the council’sutility advisors or CURO, the utility shall provide afull explanation forany estimates and,ifsuch adjustments or estimates arebased on a regularly prepared corporate budget, shall include relevant excerpts from such budget. Whereapplicable, work papers and documents containing additional explanatory material shall be cut or folded to letter size, shall be assigned page numbers,and shall be marked,organized and indexed according to subject matter,the cost-of-service statements to which they apply, and the witness sponsoringthe statement. Said work papers shall be submitted in an electronic format in accordance withthe requirements of Sec. 158-48. Sec. 158-51. -Uniform system of accounts Where applicable, exhibits, schedules and work papers shall be prepared in accordance withthe uniform system of accounts as prescribed by the federal regulatory agency responsible forthat typeofutility.Inthe case of electric and gasutilities, the uniform system of accounts used shall be that prescribed by the FERC or its functional successor in the United States Government, exceptas otherwisespecifically permitted or requested by the council, the council’s utility advisors, or CURO. Sec. 158-52. -Waiver of requirements

(a) If any information required by the filing requirements cannot be provided or is notapplicable to aparticular utility,such utility shall submit electronically to the clerk of council, withacopy to CURO, awritten applicationfor awaiver of the requirement(s) withwhich it cannot comply or which is notapplicable, at the timeof filing the application. Thewaiver shall includespecificreasons forthe inapplicability of such information, or theinability of the utility to provide this information and shall be filed in accordance withthe requirements of Sec.158-48.

(b)The council mayapproveordeny the request forwaiver by resolution. If thecouncil denies the request, the utility shall file the information, which is thesubject of the denied waiver request, to the clerkwith acopy to CURO within 15 days unless the council designates alongertime.

(c)Ifthe utility fails to curethe deficiency, which wasthe subject of adenied waiver application in the period allowed, the applicationshall be deemed rejected.

Sec. 158-53. -Suspensionof filingrequirements In its sound discretion, the council maysuspend the operationofany provisions of this article or modifythem instanter to the extent authorized by law, or after such proceedingsand upon such conditions as it findstobejust and practicable, provided that any such suspensionand modificationshall be consistent with provisions of the home rule charter of the city Sec. 158-54. -Public notice.

(a) When autility files an application, the clerkofcouncil shall publishthe summary provided withthe applicationinthe official journal. Theutility shall pay the cost of publication.

(b) Theutility shall make the applicationavailable on the utility’swebsite.

(c)The provisions of this sectionare mandatory.Nonetheless, compliance with the provisions of this sectionbya utility shall notbedeemed a procedural prerequisite to the considerationor final disposition of any application filed under this article. No deficiency in the language of any cover sheet, advertisement or summary required by this sectionshall create aright in favor of any person to delay the progress of any proceeding initiated by an application filed under this article, norshall any such deficiency create abasis forthe invalidation or setting asideofany order issued by the council to disposeofthe proceeding

Sec. 158-55. -Technical filingrequirements Each applicationfor a changeinrates or service under this division shall satisfy the requirements enumerated in this section. Specifications forthese requirements can be found in the URM available on the council’swebsite.

(a)General utility data:

(1) Charter or other business organizationdocument.

(2)Mostrecent balance sheet.

(3) Utility property.

(4) Retained earningsanalysis.

(5) Constructionprogramstatement.

(b) Revenue related data.

(c) Rate-base related data.

(d) Income statement data.

(e) Data related to the cost of capital.

(f) Financial statements and statistical data.

(g) Data related to cost of service.

(h) Allocation of affiliate costs.

Subdivision III- Formula Rate Plans.

Sec. 158-56. -Purpose. Theformula rate plan(“FRP”) is an intermediary mechanism by which the utility can implement rate adjustments more frequently under council review based on apredetermined formula during the period between utility rate changeapplication filings.

Sec. 158-57. –Formularate plans

As part of ageneral rate case, the council mayapprovea request from autility to implement aFRP in connection withsetting new rates forthe requesting utility.Subject to the council’sapproval, aproceduretoconduct theFRP shall be included in the utility’selectric or gasformula rate plan riderschedule as applicable.

(a) Procedural schedule. Theprocedural schedule governing proceedings related to formula rate plans, including deadlines for filing the evaluation report and proposed rate adjustments and for the review period, shall be determined as part of the rate case and included in the utility’selectric or gasformula rate planrider schedule approved by the council.

(b) Procedural schedule amendment. When applicable and forgood cause shown and as required by the circumstances of the proceedings, the council or an administrative hearing officer maychangeoramend the dates established in the schedule set.

(c) Deficiencies in applications. In the event of oneormoredisputes regarding deficiencies in an evaluationreport,the dispute maybereferred to ahearing officer foranadministrative hearing and asubsequent decision by the council.

Division V–Generation Resource Programs.

Sec. 158-58. –Integrated resource plan. Theintegrated resource plan (“IRP”) is atriennial process that assesses the energy resources available to meet the electric service needsofthe city of New Orleans and ensures that changes in customer demandsand environmental conditions are addressed effectively and presented in a final IRP report filed by the utility

Thegoalofthe IRP is to identify the optimal set of resources to meet the current and futureelectric service needsofthe city,atthe lowest total cost to customers and utility,ina manner consistent withthe public interest and the council’senergy policygoals. Theexpected combinationofcosts, reliability,risks, and uncertainty areall consideredinthis process.

(a) Procedural Overview.The minimum procedural schedule requirements foranIRP shall be as follows:

(1) Initiating resolution. Thecouncil adoptsaninitiating resolutionoutlining the IRP process, intervenorand public participation, policyobjectives, procedural schedule, and any other mattersdeemed necessarybythe council. TheIRP process shall includeanopportunity forintervenors to participate in the concurrent development of inputs and assumptions for the major components of the IRP in collaboration withthe utility within the confines of the IRP timeline and procedural schedule.

(2)Public Meetings. CURO shall schedule at least three (3) public engagement meetings. Themeetingswill be advertised at least 30 days prior to the public technical conferences. Adescriptionofthe meetingsto be scheduled areasfollows:

A. Public meeting 1: An initial meeting that describes the IRP process including the purposeofthe IRP and procedural timelines.

B. Public meeting 2: Theutility presents its IRP as filed C. Public meeting 3: Dedicated to public comment on the utility’sIRP report

(3)Technical Meetings. CURO shall schedule at least four (4) technical meetingsinwhich parties will be able to discuss the major IRP components, including present inputs and assumptions, provide comments, and attempt to reach consensus. (4) Additional information related to this Divisioniscontained in the IRP rules section of the URM

(1) The renewableand clean portfolio standard(“RCPS”) program. To pursue reductions to carbonemissions, improve the health and quality of life of the citizens of New Orleans, andtoreduce the city’simpact on climate change, compliance with the council’sRCPSshouldbeincorporated into the planning strategy reflectingknown utilityregulatory policy goals of the

at arate equal to apercentage of kWh sales and reducing the utilitysystem peak load.

(3) Transmissionand distribution planning. Transmission anddistribution planning shouldbemorefully integrated into the IRP process to ensure that transmission anddistribution solutions areconsidered as alternatives to supply-side and demand-side resources areevaluated, andthat any reliabilityconcerns andcustomer-owned distributed energy resources are addressed.

(4) Optimizationsoftware.Toensurethat demand-side resources are comparedequally with supply-side resources in all IRPs, all supply-side anddemand-side resource alternatives shouldbemade available to the utility’sselect optimization engine concurrentlysuch that the optimization softwarecan choose an optimalcombinationofresources.

Sec. 158-59. -Authority to Construct or ImplementResource Options. Any utilityproposing to either construct or acquireaninterest in ageneration or transmission facility or implement afull-scaledemand-side program, the rate base value of which exceeds two percent of the rate makingvalueof the utility’sproperty,orenter into along-term firm power purchase contract, the present value of the fixedcost of which exceeds two percent of the rate makingvalueofthe utility’sproperty,shall file an applicationand receive councilapprovalfor authority prior to takingsuch action.

Sec. 158-60. -Renewableand Clean Portfolio Standard. The goalof the renewableand clean portfolio standard(“RCPS”) as established by the councilrequires the electric utilitytoreach “net-zero” emissions in its generation facilities in 2040 and to eliminate the use of all carbon-emitting generation resources by 2050. In addition, RCPS seekstoensurethat the city has asafe and reliable power supplyata reasonablecost while retaining as much flexibilityaspossible to employa wide range of currentlyknown andyet to be developed zero carbon-emissions energy technologies. (a) Periodic review.The council’sRCPSrules and procedures areset forth morefully in the URM andare formulated to ensurethat the RCPS continues to meet the council’sreview process in the RCPS rules at least every five years. Suchreview shallconsider awide arrayofrelevantfactors, including, but not limited to:

(1) Progress made towardultimate andinterimgoals

(2) Developments in climate science.

(3) Impacts on customers.

(4) Technological developments, market developments, andprogress on actual emissions reductions of the utility’sportfolio

At the conclusion of each such review,the councilwill decide whether the RCPS remainsappropriate forthe city or whether it requires modification. Any modificationmay be made by resolution by the councilrevising changing, or updating the RCPS rules to implement the findings and conclusions of the council’speriodic review

Sec. 158-61. -Community Solar Program.

(a) Overview.The council’scommunity solar program(“CSP”) provides the method by which subscribing customers mayutilizelarge-scale solar facilities to offset theirenergy usage. The rules governingCSP aredetailed in the URM (b) Policy objectives andenforcement. The CSPisintended to provide access to the benefits of solar generating facilities to customers, especially those who otherwise would not be able to utilizethese facilities.

Division VI—Mergers,Sales,and Acquisitions.

Sec. 158-62. -Ingeneral In additiontothe rules of practice and procedure forregulatory proceedingsset forth in thisarticle, the procedures set out in thisdivisionshallapply to proceedings initiated in connection with mergers, sales, and acquisitions of utilities regulated by the council.

Sec. 158-63. -Procedural overview Each merger,sale, andacquisition shall commencewithaninitiatingresolution establishingthe procedural schedule, policy objectives,and any other matters deemed necessary by the council.

Sec. 158-64. -Minimum filing requirements. In determining whether a merger,sale, or acquisitionisinthe best interest of the ratepayers, the councilwill review the followingand decide based on aset of enumerated factors. As such, in additiontothe requirements set forth above in Article II, autilityrequesting approvalofamerger, sale, or acquisition, shalladdress each of the elements listed below in itsrequest:

(a) whether the transfer is in the public interest;

(b) whether the purchaser is ready,willing, andable to continue providing safe, reliable, andadequate service to the utility’sratepayers;

(c) whether the transfer will maintainorimprove the financial condition of the resulting utility;

(d) whether the proposedtransfer will maintainorimprove the quality of service to utilityratepayers;

(e) whether the transfer will provide net benefits to ratepayers in both the short and long term as well as provide aratemaking method thatwill ensure— to the fullest extent possible —that the ratepayers will receive the forecasted short andlong term benefit;

(f) whether the transfer will adversely affect competition;

(g) whether the transfer will maintainorimprove the management of the resulting utilitydoing business in the city;

(h) whether the transfer will be fair and reasonabletothe affected utility employees;

(i) whether the transfer would be fair and reasonabletothe majority of all affected utilityshareholders;

(j) whether the transfer will be beneficial on an overall basis to city and local economies and to the communitiesinthe area served by the utility;

(k) whether the transfer will preserve the jurisdictionofthe counciland the ability of the counciltoeffectively regulate and audit the utility’soperations in the city;

(l) whether conditions arenecessarytoprevent adverse consequences which mayresult from the transfer;

(m) the history of compliance or noncompliance that the proposedacquiring entity or principals or affiliates have had with regulatory authorities in this city or otherjurisdictions;

(n) whether the acquiringentity,persons, or corporations have the financial ability to operate the utilitysystem and maintainorupgrade the quality of the physical system;

(o) whether any repairs and/or improvements arerequired and the ability of the acquiringentity to makethose repairs and/or improvements;

(p) the ability of the acquiringentity to obtainall necessary health, safety and otherpermits;

(q) the manner of financing the transfer andany impact that may have on encumbering the assets of the entity and the potential impact on rates; and

(r) whether thereare anyconditions which shouldbeattached to the proposedacquisition.”

ADOPTED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITY OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 23, 2026 JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THECOUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THEMAYOR ON APRIL 27, 2026

APPROVED: MAY6,2026

HELENA MORENO

MAYOR RETURNED BY THEMAYOR ON MAY7,2026 AT 1:05 P.M.

AISHAR.COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Green,Harris, Hughes, King, McCarron, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Willard-1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the ClerkofCouncil’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, CityHall. NOCP 9112

DOERR FURNITURE–

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To this day, theMutter Family believesthat the focus is on you, Our customer,and strives to provide unparalleled customer service. From the first greeting at the showroom to the delivery of your furnitureand after,Doerr Furniture’s aim is to welcome you into the Doerr Family

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We havethe largestSelection of NorthAmerican Made Solid wood in the Gulf South!

David President,

June 26, 2026

N.O. dive bar honors Anthony Bourdain with a few of his faves page 10

LGBT+ Archives Project makes space for local gay history page 11

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

louisiana catfest

Here kitty kitty!Nonprofits

BigSky Cares and Art for Cats’ Sake unleash frenetic feline festivities from 10 a.m.to 5p.m. Saturday at theFleur De Lis Event Center,1645 N. Causeway Blvd., in Mandeville. Visit with adoptable cats and kittenswhile enjoying entertainment, educational demos, photoand video contests, acostumecontest, asilent auction and acocktail “pawty” plus adoptablecats and kittens. Tickets start at $25. louisianacatfest.org.

slidellheritage festival

Get ataste of some Fourth fun Saturday at Heritage Park, 1701 Bayou Lane,for the annual patriotic event that opens at 5p.m. with music, artists arts and crafts vendors, food trucks, beveragevendors and adedicated kids’zone. The Rotary Clubs of Slidell fundraiser concludes with afireworks display at 9p.m. slidellheritagefest.org.

Learn with N’Fungola Sibo African Dance and DrumCompany at 1p.m. Friday at 1225 N. Rampart St. Myienie Caesar, executive director of the company, will lead the class put on by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, through African song, instruments, dance and folklore. RSVP for space. jazzandheritage. org.

foodiefest: louisiana seafood cook-off

Putonbythe Jefferson Convention and Visitors Bureau, teams from several local restaurants compete for culinaryhonors starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday.Plus, sample morethan 20 local eateries and enjoy adult beverages at this 21-and-over event at the Pontchartrain Convention and Civic Center on Williams Boulevard. The winner gets crowned queen or king of seafood and heads to the Great American Seafood Cook-Off. Tickets start at $71. visitjeffersonparish.com.

Get in some cool shopping on electric art, crafts, vintage and flea market-style items from 1p.m. to 4p.m. Sunday at the Hotel Peter &Paul, 2317 Burgundy St. Live music by Hex Windham fills the air as well. facebook.com.

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

ABOUTLAGNIAPPE

sno-ball social civic symphony

Longue VueHouse and Gardens chills out for the next What’sinBloom event at this historic home at 7Bamboo Road at 3p.m. Thursday.The free afternoon offers admission to the gardens and acool taste treat from ImperialWoodpecker Sno-balls plus achance to find out what’sinbloom this season around the grounds. Registration requested. longuevuew.com.

GETLISTEDINLAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is publishedeach ThursdaybyThe Times-Picayune |The NewOrleans Advocate. All inquiries about Lagniappe shouldbedirectedtothe editor.

LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Lauren Walck,lauren.walck@theadvocate. com

COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel CONTRIBUTINGWRITERS: Victor Andrews, Marco Cartolano, Will Coviello, MarignyLanaux,DougMacCash,Ian McNulty, Sarah Ravitz, Keith Spera

Submitevents to Lagniappe at leasttwo weeks in advance by sending an emailtoevents@theadvocate.com.

ON THECOVER

The LafonPerforming Arts Center in Luling will put on aseries of student-focused shows,includng Cirque Mechanics’“Tilt!”, an homage to classic American amusement parks of the 1980s. Photo by Robert Silver. StorybyVictorAndrewsonPage 6.

Mozart’sSymphony No. 36, “Linz,” and Haydn’sSymphony No. 45, “Farewell,” will be the roster for the Sunday concert of the volunteer orchestra at 6p.m. at the Universityof New Orleans RecitalHall in the Performing ArtsCenter, 2000 LakeshoreDrive. Liliia Oliinyk is the pianist and Charles Taylor directs. neworleanscivicsymphony.org.

music music music

It’s aslowsummerweekfor touringartists passing throughNew Orleans. But theclubs arenonetheless full with top-tier localtalent.

THURSDAY

The NOLA ResistanceQuintet,aka NRQ,consists of fiveveteran New Orleans musicians Darrell Lavigne, Chris Severin, Herman LeBeaux, Roderick Paulin and Andrew Baham —who blend jazz, funkand improvisation with “an eartothe past witheyesto thefuture.”

NRQ performs at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street. Ticketsstart at$30. LeroyThomas &the ZydecoRoadrunners are featuredfor this week’s Zydeco Night at Rock ’N’Bowl. Admission is $17.

Since 2014, the western New York-based Dead Letter Office has stagedatribute to R.E.M., showcasing both hitsand deep cuts. How legit is Dead Letter Office? Both R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills have sat in withthe band. Hear Dead Letter Office at Chickie WahWah at 9p.m. Thursday.Tickets start at $25.

At the Maple Leaf Bar, “Booker &Beyond: The Professor TimPiano Series” presents Mikayla Braun at 6p.m.; ticketsare $13. Then at 8p.m., the Maple Leaf hosts drum legend Johnny Vidacovich with saxophonist Tony Dagradi and bassist Grayson Brockcamp;tickets are $18.

FRIDAY

Radiatorskeyboardist, singerand songwriter Ed Volker fronts his ZekoPerdido project at Chickie WahWah. It features four membersofthe Iguanas —guitarist Rod Hodges,bassist Rene Coman,drummer Doug Garrison and saxophonist Joe Cabral —backing Volker on adeep dive into his vast catalog of hundreds of songs. Showtimeis 9p.m. Tickets start at $25 plus fees. Circa 1980, modernjazz guitarist Steve Masakowski launched his Mars project toexplore afusion of jazz and electronic music. His collaborators included keyboardist Lawrence Sieberth and drummer Ricky Sebastian.They both appeared on the 1983 album “MasakowskiMars,” which alsofeatured saxophonist Dave Liebman, drummers Johnny Vidacovich and James Black, keyboardist Dave Torkanowsky and flutist Kent Jordan. In acity better known for moretraditional jazz, “Masakowski-Mars” was something elseentirely.Four-plus decades after Mars’ founding, Masakowski, Sieberthand Sebastian will reunite as ReturntoMars for anight at Snug Harbor.With PatCasey on bass, they’ll perform at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.Friday.Ticketsare $40 plus fees. Singer,trombonist,guitarist and songwriter MichaelMullins grew up around New Orleansmusic as the sonofBonerama’s MarkMullins. Michael Mullins typically performswith his rock band, Zita. Buthe’ll debut under his own name at the Maple Leaf Bar on Friday,fronting aband thatincludes Dan Souvigny on keyboards, Eric Bolivar on drums, Bradford Lewis on lead guitar and Willie Martin on bass. Showtime is 9p.m.; tickets are $18.

It’sWhiteLinen Latin Night/Noche de San Juan at Rock ’N’ Bowl with Javier Olondo &AsheSon celebrating their 20th anniversary.Tickets are $15.

The Stooges Brass Band headlines this week’sinstallment of the summer-long Free Fridays series at Tipitina’s. Very Cherry opens theshow at 9p.m. Admission is free.

SATURDAY

Horace Trahan &the Ossun Express bring zydeco music and dancing to the outdoor Broadside, starting at 8p.m. Tickets are $10.

DJ RQ Away hosts one of his periodic Lagniappe parties at Tipitina’s. Doors open at 10 p.m.; the show starts at 11. Tickets are $25 plus fees.

Jazz pianist KeikoKomaki’s duo plays afree happy hour set at Snug Harbor at 4:30 p.m.Later on Saturday,Snug Harbor presents Moroccan-born stringed instrument master Mahmoud“Mood” Chouki and his New WorldEnsemble at 7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m.Tickets are $40.

Catch MeganMartinez andthe Love Muscles at the Maple Leaf Bar Tickets are $18.

Email KeithSpera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

Keith Spera

Volker

Steve Masakowski

Mahmoud Chouki

music music music

SUNDAY

Keyboardist Lawrence Sieberth andsaxophonist freehappy hour show at 4:30 p.m. at Snug Ha Harborpresentstrombonistand composer Char of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, classicLatin jazz, grooves.Tickets for theTropicales’ 7:30 p.m. 9:30 p.m. show are $15.

The fourth annual SwampPop show at Rock Foret Tradition, the Bourg Bros,TetDur,GaryT,Don Rich, St Rockin’ Dopsie Jr Doors open at 3p.m.; the show Organist/keyboardist JoeKrown,best known for Gatemouth Brown andKenny WayneShepher MapleLeafBar that includes guitarist Papi Mali bassist Cass Faulconer.Tickets are $18.

MONDAY

New Orleans entertainer Charmaine Neville and herband are at SnugHarbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; tickets are $30.

TUESDAY

Havana-born guitarist, bassist, vocalist, tres player and composer Yusa moved to New Orleansin 2020. She’ll lead her WorldofRhythms ensemble at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are$30.

WEDNESDAY

New Orleans-based Americanasingersongwriter Lynn Drury does afree happy hour set at 5p.m. at SnugHarbor.Later on Wednesday,saxophonist ScottJohnson leads the Uptown Jazz Orchestra at SnugHarbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $45.

Yusa

Joe Krown

stages stages stages

To the

rafters

LafonPerforming Arts Center in Luling fills itsschedulewithmorefreestudent shows

School’sout, but students in St. Charles Parish are getting moreoptions to experience the performing arts this fall at the Lafon PerformingArts Center.

The Luling facility has announced an upcoming seasonofexpanded student-focusedprogramming with five shows and twoadditionallocal theater productions.

The 2026-27seasonper-

productions to thearea; the CommunitySeries showcases local talent in plays and musicals;and the Artsperience education series offersfreematinees to local public school students, along with behindthe-scenes educational workshops and interactions

“This year’s season of performances perfectly reflectsour missiontoconnect students to pro-

Aproduction of ‘The MagicSchool Bus:Lostinthe Solar System’ features Junior Men

Victor Andrews

The ensemble Vocave is returning to Lafon Performing ArtsCenter for performances of ‘The Corner of Broadwayand Main Street.’

PROVIDED PHOTOS dez, from left,Kari Gunberg,Lexi Rhoades, TomMeglio,Jared Loftin and Sumi yu.

American Patchwork Quartet, an ensemble that reimagines American roots music with an international view,willbein residence at Lafon Performing Arts Center with visual arts students, culminating withanexhibition.

‘The Ugly Duckling’ by Lightwire Theater

stages stages stages

LAFON

Continued from page 6

fessional artists and foster creativity in each of them,” Lafon Director Ned Moore said in a statement. “This year’s careful selection of performances in tandem with our unique programming style showcases how our center works closely with the school system and our community to provide an outstanding experience for our students outside of the regular classroom.”

The Main Stage series includes:

n American Patchwork Quartet: Sept. 30 to Oct. 1. The ensemble reimagines American roots music with an international view. The group will be in residence with visual arts students, culminating with an exhibition.

n “The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System”: Oct. 18-20. Based on the Scholastic series with Ms. Frizzle and the gang.

n Cirque Mechanics’“Tilt!”: Nov. 19. An homage to classic American amusement parks of the 1980s with rides and games.

n Lightwire Theatre’s “The Ugly Duckling”: Feb. 21-22. The visually stellar production blends dance, puppetry and electroluminescent costuming for the timeless tale.

n Vocave’s “The Corner of Broadway and Main Street”: April 11-12. Returning for another vocal performance, with 11 singers brings a wide variety of music to the program.

“Mary Poppins” by the River Region Drama Guild lands on stage July 17-19 and “The Nutcracker,” in collaboration with Ballet Images, leaps Dec. 12-13 as part of the Community Series.

Tickets start at $25 for the shows, and other pass options include a season subscription or bundles like pick three, concerts or family-friendly shows.

Opened in 2018, Lafon has a 1,300seat main theater, a flexible black box theater, dance studio and two-story education wing at 275 Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway.

‘The Lion King’

Tickets are on sale for the return of “The Lion King” in October to the Saenger Theatre.

The stage version of the Disney animated blockbuster, still running on Broadway, returns for a three-week run starting Oct. 21 through Nov. 8

Shows will run Tuesdays through

Zama Magudelela is Rafiki in the touring show of ‘The Lion King’ headed to the Saenger in October and November.

most Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m.

The winner of six Tony Awards, including best musical, ”The Lion King” features innovative staging and puppetry by double winner Julie Taymor to tell the story of a young cub who witnesses his father’s death at the hands of his uncle, leaves the pride and returns for the emotional climax. The music blends the score by Sir Elton John and Tim Rick with South African music and lyrics

With “elephants” walking through the aisles, “birds” soaring over the au-

dience and dancing “grasslands,” the show has played locally at the Saenger and Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts to packed houses. It first played in New Orleans in 2012 and has been touring the country for more than 24 years, making it the longestrunning Broadway tour in North America.

Tickets are available at the Saenger box office at 1111 Canal St. and online at broadwayinneworleans.com and us.atgtickets.com.

Extra Magic Packages, a Disney feature that includes a ticket plus mer-

Lafon Performing Arts Center in Luling has announced an upcoming season of expanded student-focused programming with five shows and two additional local theater productions, including an homage to classic American amusement parks of the 1980s, Cirque Mechanics’ ‘Tilt!’

chandise, will also be available.

‘Joanie Off the Pony’

A preview performance will be held July 19 of a Jeanne d’Arc-themed theatrical work in development will be at 2 p.m. at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Ave. The date listed in last week’s Lagniappe was incorrect.

“Joanie Off the Pony: The Mermaid of New Orleans” was written by Amy Kirk DuVoisin, a founder of the annual Joan of Arc parade that kicks off Carnival season.

The production blends theater, music, improvisational movement and collaborative performance. Audience feedback will be invited.

For information, visit artspannola. org.

In production

“MACBETH”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays through July 12, Lupin Theatre in Dixon Hall Annex, Tulane’s Newcomb Circle. The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane presents the shortest of the Bard’s tragedies; there’s mayhem and murder to keep things moving along, as well as madness just to make things more Shakespearean. There are more prophecies and conniving and bewitching as life gets messier for all concerned. Tickets start at $25. Visit neworleanshakespeare.org.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By ROBERT SILVER

PROVIDED PHOTO

fashion fashion fashion

National Westernwearbrand setfor Magazine Street

BY MARIGNY LANAUX Staff writer

AWesternwear shopping destination will soon arriveonMagazine Street as bootmaker Tecovas opens aNew Orleans storefront later this year in the hometown of its CEO.

It joins other national brands that have recently leased on Magazine Street, including Reformation, Le Labo and Hill House Home.

Born and raised in New Orleans, CEO David Lafitte said the city has influenced his perspectiveon community, food and hospitality, which is central to theboot brand.

“We’ve been patient about getting this right because New Orleans deserves more than just another retail store,” Lafitte said

in astatement. “It’sone of the most culturally rich cities in the country,and we wanted to find alocation anda momentwhere we could genuinely show up and offer something, not just open a doorand sell boots.”

TheNew Orleans location at 3901 Magazine St. will be the brand’ssecondstorefront in Louisiana, with thefirst in Baton Rouge.

Lafittesaid Tecovas has been interested in aNew Orleanslocation for quite some time, and immediately jumped at the opportunity when aMagazine Street spot becameavailable.

Theproperty was originally home to women’sdesigner boutique Pilotand Powell, which has since relocated to 4017 Magazine St

“Welove the mix of retailers and restaurants on the street, and thearchitecture of thebuilding felt like theperfect setting to bring our brand of hospitalityto life, somewhere guests can really slow down and feel at home,” Lafitte said.

The converted residential home setsa different tonethan atraditional retail space.

“The design has this moody, layered feel —ornatemillwork, rich textures, details that feel true to theneighborhood,” Lafitte said.

Customers can expect exclusive branding irons for leather and other location-specific merchandise.

“Wecan’twait to bring our brand of hospitalitytoone of the mostvisited and hospitable cities in the country,” he said.

PROVIDED PHOTOByTECOVAS Bootmaker Tecovas, anational Westernwear brand, is set to open astorefront on MagazineStreet in New Orleans.

food food food

Snakeand Jake’s Christmas ClubLounge, astoried New Orleans dive bar,isa perpetually dark,late-night oasisfor cheap drinks and easy vibes tucked into its neighborhood near Tulane and Loyola universities.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

Snakeand Jake’s hosting AnthonyBourdaintribute party

Late chef andTVpersonality called dive bar‘anationaltreasure’

Chef EmerilLagasse, Carnival Cruise Line’schief culinary officer,announced the fleet’s newslate of restaurants and bars.

Carnival Cruisesunveils restaurants curatedby Emeril Lagasse

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Ian McNulty

Before it opens for the night, it mightbeeasy to pass right by Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Loungeand assume it was just some shed with an old beer sign outside. But behind its door is astoried New Orleans dive bar,a perpetually dark, late-night oasis for cheap drinks and easy vibes tucked into its neighborhood near Tulane and Loyola universities. It captivated AnthonyBourdain, who once called Snake and Jake’sa“national treasure.”

Bourdain,the late chef-turnedTV host and global food culture adventurer,had astrong affinity for the food and the drinking culture of New Orleans, as was well documented throughhis books and travel shows.

Theadmirationismutual for many in New Orleans, including acircleoffriends who will host a Bourdain tribute party at 8p.m. Monday at Snake andJake’s.

Theone-night event is dubbed “New Orleans Rebels.” Open to all,withnoticket or cover,itwas conceived as ahospitality industrynight tohonor thepeople who make the restaurant and bar worldtick—linecooks, waiters, bartenders, oyster shuckersand such —the people Bourdain often championed inhis work.

That’s why the party is on a Monday,the customary service industry night, afew days after what would have been Bourdain’s 70th birthday (that milestone is Thursday,which has been marked by his fansworldwide as BourdainDay since his death in 2018).

Thepartyishosted by Snake andJake’sco-founder Tony

Tocco, who runs theIrish Channel restaurantAtchafalaya; bar co-founder and proprietor Dave Clements;Sean Cummings, whose International Househotel is hometoLoa, another bar that also earned Bourdain’spraise; and Jared Andrukanis,Bourdain’slongtime producer,who picked thedrinks and food for thenight

Look for specialty drinks (at Snake and Jake’spricing) reflecting Bourdain’sknown regard for theNegroni, cold beer,Jägermeister andFernet-Branca and full pint margaritas, apost-shift ritual dubbed “the Industrial.”

Atchafalaya will be on hand preparing dishes of the sort Bourdain liked, including chargrilled oysters, roast beef debris po-boys,red beans and boudin.

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

Bourdain

NEW ORLEANS REBELS

WHAT: Industrynight honoring Anthony Bourdain WHEN: 8p.m.

Monday WHERE: Snakeand Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge, 7612 Oak St., NewOrleans

Carnival Cruise Line announced aseries of new restaurants and bars forits fleet of ships, including an eatery that bears the nameofcelebrity chef and New Orleans institution Emeril Lagasse. Lagasse, whowas named Carnival’schief culinary officer in 2022, debuted the new restaurants at arecent event in NewOrleans.

Emeril’sCoastal Seafood will blend New England cuisine and Lagasse’ssignature Creole food. The restaurant will debut on Carnival’supcoming ships Festivale in 2027 and Tropicale in 2028.

Carnival described the Coastal Seafood’smenu as a celebration of “the best of land and sea,” with plates “based on traditional recipes, sprinkled with energy and finished with that signature kick.”

Emeril’sBistros, three New Orleans-inspired restaurants, previously opened on the Carnival Mardi Gras, Celebration and Jubilee, respectively.

FILE PHOTO

culture culture culture

LGBT+ArchivesProject opensexhibit space

Historian: ‘Visibilityismoreimportant than ever’

BY WILL COVIELLO andSARAH RAVITS Gambit Weekly

Besides his history of gaybars, Frank Perez wrote abiography of longtime New Orleans gay rights activist Stuart Butler.Latein his life, Butler invited Perez and others to his home to show them a huge collection of his life’swork,including newsletters, meeting minutes and personal belongings.

That cache became the foundation of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, founded byPerez and others. Perez is executive director

As Perez has continued to research and write books, the archivehas also grown and become aplatform to collect documents, photos, video, oral histories and lists of LGBTQ+ organizations and resources.

Now,it’salso got an exhibition space, which recently opened in the French Quarter.

“Visibility is more importantthan ever,” Perez said. “That is one of the things we feel very strongly aboutwith the archives project is the governoris trying to erase us andmake usinvisible, and it’slike f*** you, we’regoing to be more visible and openanexhibit space.”

The space’sopeningexhibits include panels exploring subjectssuch as gay Carnival, SouthernDecadence, HIV and queer journalism.

“You name it,” Perez said.

Another panel shows how New Orleans has inspired LGBTQ+ authors, including Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and contemporary nonfiction writer Sarah Broom.

Atimeline against theback wall documents New Orleans’ queer history,dating back to 1724’s“first written reference to homosexualityinNew Orleans” and spans protestsover the AIDS crisis and anti-discrimination laws, and includes mentions of notable LGBTQ+ people breakingbarriers.

GAMBITPHOTOSBySARAH RAVITS

The LGBT+ Archiv Project of Lousiana

Exhibits at the LGBT+ Archives spaceinclude panelson gayCarnival, Southern Decadence, HIVand queer journalism.

Perez

ANNUALFLAG

RETIREMENTCEREMONY BYVFW8720

LIVEMUSICBY 4UNPLUGGED

FOODANDCRAFT VENDORS

KID’SACTIVITIES

FIREWORKS AT9:00PM